Failure To Thrive
by cre8tvdeb
Summary: It is post DH, and in the immediate aftermath, Harry experiences a spontaneous de-aging effect that sets him back physically, (& mentally?) by about 3 years. Recovery is challenging, and Harry is resisting help. But he does manage to get it from some unlikely sources. Follows DH, but AU (Alive!) Severus and Malfoys. Bonding/Mentor fic. Rating may change to M in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N This is my first full fanfic. It's a Post DH that disregards Snape's death, but pretty much follows all other events. I've literally read hundreds of the HP stories posted on this site and have had so much fun with them. Many have come very close, but none have yet to fill the void left for me in the realm of unresolved issues between Harry and Severus. So far this story doesn't either! But it's taken on a life of it's own, and somehow the Malfoys have dominated the first several chapters. I hope you enjoy it!**_

Chapter One - Failure to Thrive - Part I

The late spring of 1997 saw a terrific battle on the grounds of an educational institution housed in an ancient castle called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A boy named Harry Potter had attended that school and had spent the last seven years of his childhood preparing for the fight of his life against a maniacal dark wizard who had wreaked havoc on Wizarding Britain and beyond, for too long to measure. At seventeen, Harry had faced and defeated Lord Voldemort by forcing the monster to use his own evil magic upon himself. Harry had then made one singular statement to a new reporter for the_ Daily Prophet,_ Alec Corsi, saying simply that he had never worked alone, and that to call _him_ the one who'd vanquished Lord Voldemort was a horrible disservice to all whose lives had been impacted by Tom Riddle's reign of terror. He had insisted that Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape be credited with plotting the ultimate strategy that had culminated with Harry's return to the school to face his nemesis. Harry agreed that he had taken the final step and cast the final spell to end the evil wizard's life, but everyone who had raised his or her wands to defend the Light had done their share to help him get to that point. He'd closed by saying that he'd take offense at anything printed in the future that labeled him alone as the one who'd saved them all.

Harry hadn't bothered to read the article itself, and therefore hadn't seen that Corsi had reprinted his words verbatim. Harry had also missed the exposé Corsi had begun which showcased the sudden and dramatic changes in the Boy Wonder's physical appearance. The changes that Harry himself was refusing to acknowledge. The changes that made him physically appear to be quite a bit younger than his seventeen years. The journalist had published a TriWizard Tournament photo beside a current photo of Harry taken just a week after the Final Battle. There was no visible difference between the dark haired boy-wizard in either photo.

In a matter of days, the buzz about the Boy Who Lived -_Twice_ was that he'd deliberately de-aged himself to reclaim his lost childhood.

The combination of shock, grief, elation, and the sudden cease of the terror that had fueled Harry's actions for the better part of the past year didn't hit him until about two days after the Final Battle. Equally traumatized, his friends had allowed him to retreat to his godfather's house, where he cancelled the Fidelius charm and reset the wards. Then he set about ridding the old home of all of the dark magic and artifacts it contained. Days passed, then a week, as his fellow citizens set out to begin repairing their lives. In spite of their collective joy, no one seemed at all prepared to handle the depth of devastation they'd experienced both privately and as a society, and everything continued to feel upheaved. The Ministry of Magic had to purge itself of the criminals that had overtaken it. Escaped Death Eaters had to be caught. Trials had to be held. All of this had to be done with new and precariously understaffed leadership. Harry wanted no part of it, but had been informed that he would be called as a key witness for numerous hearings. And he himself had restitution to pay, to the goblins of Gringott's Wizarding Bank who had yet to respond to his attempts to begin a dialog. So far, they had not sought charges against the Golden Trio, but neither had they been willing to let Harry into the bank for a personal visit. His money was accessible by owl only. For reasons he'd not yet worked out, he'd requested a large sum in muggle funds and intended to open an account in a bank in muggle London.

Harry fully intended to throw himself into the clean up and rebuild of Hogwarts, which was set to begin in a few weeks. The realization that he had no life of his own to repair settled in heavily, and left him feeling very empty. He didn't even give the Dursleys a thought, figuring whomever was supervising their security would likely tell them they were free to return to Little Whinging. He accepted invitations to dinner at the Weasleys, but refused to move into the Burrow with his grieving friends. He kept his distance from Ginny, and as always, she seemed to realize it was for the best. He exchanged owls with Hermione when she went to fetch her parents in Australia. He attended funerals and dreaded the endless court appearances, all the while noticing a growing numbness in his emotions that he was powerless to overcome. The final blow to his heart happened when he'd gone to retrieve Snape's body from the Shrieking Shack and found the dilapidated structure to be burned to ashes. He barely recognized the spot it had inhabited. Clearly whomever had set fire to the building had done so with the intention to erase the last of what had remained of Severus Snape.

About two weeks after the battle, Harry made one public appearance in Diagon Alley on his way to muggle London. People recognized him, of course, but seemed to be able to read his moodiness and kept their distance, for which he was glad. He ignored their stares and pretended not to hear the muttered comments of wonder as to what spell he'd used to de-age his appearance. And other than an oddly friendly run-in with Lucius Malfoy, Harry had succeeded in avoiding conversation. He'd had to apply a glamour to look his age again and opened a new account in his own name. He left with a plastic ATM card and a book of temporary checks that he found quite cool. At Harrod's, he purchased a selection of comfortable muggle clothes that actually fit him. There would be no robes in his new wardrobe: just jeans, jumpers, T-shirts and trainers.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"Minister Shacklebolt," Narissa Malfoy failed to hide her surprise at the sight of the tall, dark war hero at her front door. The wards had alerted her that a Ministry official had just apparated onto the property and her stomach had clenched in dread. She held the door open for the newly appointed Minister of Magic. "Please come in."

"Thank you, Madam Malfoy," Kinglsey Shacklebolt said graciously.

"Minister," Lucius Malfoy greeted from behind Narcissa as he rushed into the foyer to stand with his wife to face whatever grim pronouncement the Ministry may have for them. "Welcome, would you care to join us in the garden for some tea?"

"Certainly, thank you Lucius," Kingsley agreed. His use of Lucius' first name put the blond man slightly more at ease.

Lucius took his wife's hand and they strolled along towards the massive doors at the back end of the lower level of the manor. He could see Kingsley's curious assessment of the interior, which was decisively stripped of nearly all of the furnishings and art, looking somewhat battered and abandoned.

"I see you've taken your commitments to heart," Kingsley said, "and rather quickly!" He chuckled. "Couldn't get rid of the aftermath soon enough, eh?"

Narcissa smiled nervously at him, not entirely sure that he was here for friendly reasons, but wanting to be on good terms with him nonetheless. "That is exactly the case, Minister."

"We will begin an extensive remodel immediately," Lucius added. "The manor will be unrecognizable to all who have known it in the past."

They reached the doors and exited to a grassy area under a tree, where the Malfoys had set up the chairs and tables they'd spent most of their recent days using. A transfigured gazebo-style roof hovered over the seating to protect them from the elements. When they were seated, Narcissa conjured a tea set and put tea in the teapot to steep. Within a couple of moments of light chitchat, tea was served and Kingsley started in without further preamble.

"I've been meeting privately with a number of peers and colleagues to form the plan for rebuilding the entire infrastructure of Wizarding Britain," he told them.

"I see," Lucius said.

Kingsley seemed to realize his hosts were unsettled by his appearance. He obviously had an agenda. "There is much to be done, so much more than trials and repairs to damaged homes and businesses. The most sensitive aspect will be the social interaction of the survivors."

"Ah," Lucius responded carefully. His wife's hand slipped into his. "I certainly agree that it will be a difficult recovery."

Kingsley nodded. "I want to quickly establish a model of _the new norm_ in wizarding society," he told them. "It's foolish to hope that hatred and discrimination have been obliterated, but I believe initiatives can begin in that direction. The first action I will take is to have a thirty-day memorial of Voldemort's fall. I would want every citizen to feel comfortable enough to attend." He lowered his head and held each of his hosts' gaze for a serious moment. "Now that you've both faced the court and have a plan of action to rebuild your own lives, I would like your advice on how to best reintegrate the populous."

Lucius blinked rapidly, utterly flabbergasted to have been drawn into Shaklebolt's confidence to this degree. He clenched his jaw against a sudden rush of emotion and cleared his throat but could not disguise his feelings. "We would be honored to offer our input, Minister, and as well to act as role model to those who…, like us, had built their social lives around prejudice and malice. I would guess that many of my own… _associates_ are feeling the stinging slap of reality quite strongly. I myself can tell you that Narcissa and I will be struggling with our own regrets, but we will be at the memorial with Draco, and will be certain to encourage those others to attend as well."

"Excellent. I am grateful to you both," Kingsley said.

"We don't deserve it, Minister, but we will endeavor to live up to the trust you have just shown us," Narcissa assured him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - Failure to Thrive - Part II

The unusually sunny day in June, 1997 found Lucius Malfoy standing with his wife and son upon the grounds in front of the battle-scarred Hogwarts castle. They were in a crowd of fellow wizards at Great Britain's first public memorial for the fallen heroes who had dared to challenge Lord Voldemort. The subsequent memorials would be annual, on the actual date the most vile wizard of the age had been bested in the Great Hall. Lucius was aware of glares and disapproving looks cast his way, but kept his composure. He was exceedingly grateful to be standing here, a free man, rather than rotting in Azkaban. He was so practiced at schooling _all emotion_ other than arrogance and smugness out of his expression, he was uncertain what he was actually displaying of his inner self at this moment.

Publicly, it was no secret that Lucius was going out of his way to prove he had privately relinquished his support for Voldemort long ago, and was quite relieved to have him gone. He readily admitted he had been trapped in circumstances created by his own pompous desire for stature and power. It had come back to rip the arrogance right out of him, shaming him to the core. He had made his appearance, as had Draco and Narcissa, before the Wizengamut mere days after the Final Battle, and had spoken these exact sentiments in complete honesty. It had been the judgement of the court that he would be of better service on probation, retaining his freedom on the condition that he pay significant fines and rid himself, and his life, of dark arts. Outside of that arena, he had yet to be challenged to his face on his claims, but he was under no illusions that many believed he should have been imprisoned.

Those final moments, when young Harry Potter had taken matters into his own hands and faced the Dark Lord alone, had been the actual turning point for both Lucius and Narcissa. The boy's sentiments, as reported in the _Prophet_, had further endeared Harry to them both. They'd had a metaphorical mirror held up to them, and what they'd seen of their own reflections compared to what they'd just watched a seventeen year old boy take upon himself, had stripped the very foundation of their individual identities away. In these past thirty days, the Malfoy family had experienced life without any trappings beyond their own guilt and regret. Though they now had far less in a material sense, they'd grown closer, thankfully, though Lucius was still terrified he'd failed his son too deeply to ever have his respect again. They'd pledged to make restitution in any form they could manage as they started over as a family, with new perspective on what truly mattered in life.

Lucius watched in mild alarm as the memorial was concluding and the audience expected to hear from the Vanquisher of Evil, Harry Potter himself. All eyes and ears waited attentively for Harry to come forward to address them. It was to be his first public address and many had come today with hopes of having a quick word, or even an opportunity to send him a grateful look. But the object of their affection was in his own world, and it seemed to Lucius to be a bitter and dark one. Harry was seated in a slump on the stage, staring moodily into space, completely disinterested and unengaged in the service. When Hermione Granger glanced Harry's way as if to ask if he wanted to say a few words, the sullen teen simply closed his eyes and averted his face. The young witch stepped forward.

"Good afternoon," she said shakily. "It's been a long month, hasn't it? Probably the longest I can personally remember." She cleared her throat and scanned the crowd, making eye contact with everyone. "I think what's most important for each of us, in this new era we are beginning to build together, is to remember that it was fear that drove us as a society into the darkness we have suffered under these past years. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what is different. Not trusting that there may be something wonderful to discover beyond our own comfort zones. I think it's important to keep this in mind in the future, whenever the desire to judge or disrespect someone arises. We are all relieved today to be alive and free, are we not? We will only stay that way if we forgive as much as we can, and if we try to open our hearts and minds to the differences between us. I've never questioned my desire to be a part of the wizarding world, and I, for one, intend to do what I can to hold onto this Light that we now have. I hope everyone here believes they can do the same, each in his own way. Thank you."

A loud applause rewarded her disclosure, and it was clear that her words were well received.

As the service ended, the audience and presenters broke into small groups to exchange greetings and condolences. Many disappointed faces followed Harry Potter as he made his way around to the back side of the castle out of view of any of the other guests. Lucius also followed, in long purposeful strides that were soundless as he covered the distance between them. He heard snippets of dialogue in his wake. Many of those who had known Harry for a long time were now commenting on how young and small he looked up close.

_Hadn't he been taller in sixth year? _

_He barely looks older than he did at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Why would he do that to himself? _

_I know he was bigger than this when I saw him on the grounds during the battle!_

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry had entered an old garden rarely used, even when school was in session. In a few swift steps, Lucius was beside him and taking a firm hold of the boy's upper arm and halting them both. And yes, the boy's small stature and young face was both disconcerting and distracting. The question was, did Harry _feel_ as young as he looked?

But first things first.

"You behaved very poorly just now, young man," Lucius said sternly.

Harry turned towards him, the dull expression turning to surprise. His eyes widened slightly as he met the reproachful glare of an adult for whose authority he felt conflicting regard. For someone like Harry, who had more familiarity with the flawed examples of humanity than most, being pulled aside by Lucius Malfoy for being inconsiderate could have been laughable in times gone by. But current day ethics were being redefined by the moment. The fact that this well-educated, and extremely powerful wizard was finding fault with his behavior was enough to make Harry question himself, regardless of the horrible _- horrible -_ indiscretions the man had demonstrated in the past. For today, it was enough to cause Harry to grant uncertain attention to the father of one of the most obnoxious antagonists that he had dealt with to date. Reading something in the stern glare of the man who had a firm grip on his arm, he realized he was in trouble; not danger, but trouble.

Harry blinked and tried to control the anxious breathing that tightened his chest while Lucius led him further out of sight of those gathered on the grass in front of the main entrance and turned him so that they faced each other. Not knowing what to expect, Harry flashed back to their encounter in Diagon Alley, where though he had been guarded, the two had engaged in civil conversation for a short time. It was then that Lucius had hinted that he wished to be of help to Harry if he needed anything, especially in the realm of facing adulthood so suddenly. Harry had thanked him, and had left the conversation feeling inclined to believe the older wizard was being genuine.

Lucius Malfoy was indeed a changed man these days, quite visibly humbled. His attire was scaled back to a tasteful simplicity, his hair no longer platinum but dishwater blond. Now it fell to just below his shoulders, subtly tamed, but natural in appearance. He no longer strolled arrogantly around with the platinum handled wand holster, having lost his last wand to Voldemort. His new wand was kept in his sleeve and rarely seen in public. Today, at first impression, a stranger would see Lucius was an attractive wizard with a reserved nature. He still did not smile often, but now it was because of his inner turmoil, rather than because his hate-filled heart couldn't be bothered with such trivialities as happiness.

Yet to Harry, Lucius was still in a position of authority, simply because he naturally commanded it.

And to Lucius, the boy's demons were visibly claiming him and he needed to be steered onto a better track.

Harry grasped for an indifferent tone, and finally responded lamely, "What's it to you?"

"You've embarrassed yourself, and disrespected a large number of people who came here today to take comfort in the shared burden we all bear from the war."

_"I've _disrespected-" Harry started to shout in a stronger, more defensive retort, but Lucius silenced him by holding up a finger and raising a disapproving eyebrow.

"This is a new time, Harry," Lucius said sternly, knowing full well Harry wanted to call him out on his hypocrisy. _"I know I have much to atone for._ That is not in question." He released Harry's arm and the boy stepped back. "You blatantly disregarded the heartache of a throng of people who rightly or wrongly consider you a hero. You _did_ vanquish the Dark Lord, young man. I know you are wounded and suffering tremendous pain, but that does not justify your horrid behavior just now."

And at that, Harry Potter burst into anguished tears.

Lucius was both shocked and alarmed at the intensity of the boy's emotion. He waited to see if the teen would pull himself together, but Harry was so overcome with wracking sobs that he was struggling to take in a breath. Truly wanting to comfort the boy, but not certain that Harry would allow an embrace, Lucius still hesitated. Harry stood before him, head bowed, hands over his face, shoulders shaking. Lucius finally reached his hand out to cup around the back of Harry's head and slowly pulled the weeping boy to him, guiding his head until it was pressed against his shoulder.

"You must feel terribly alone," Lucius said gruffly. "But you are not. You are deeply cared for by very loyal friends, Harry. And I care very much about how you are feeling and whether you are taking care of yourself." He carded his fingers through the boy's hair. Harry's entire body trembled and his breaths hitched in his chest. Finally, Lucius enfolded Harry in a tight embrace and held him quietly for a long stretch of time.

"It is completely understandable that you would be struggling, Harry. Do you not think we should begin a dialog? Merlin only knows that just between you and I alone there is much to resolve…" Now the older man faltered. This brave boy's vulnerability was crushing his heart, but Lucius himself was not well versed in working through shame and distress. He could only follow his instincts. "I should appreciate it very much if you would come and spend some time with us at the manor. We all have much to recover from, Harry. We Malfoys are under no illusions about our own contributions to all that went wrong. We made stupid, self-centered and self-serving choices. But be certain of this: we too have paid dearly for them, and now truly, truly want to atone." He cleared his throat to loosen his tightened voice. "Let me look after you, Harry. Narcissa and I both wish to."

The only response he received was Harry's body relaxing further into his embrace. Lucius tightened his arms again. "Tell me child, what is the hardest thing for you to bear right now?"

"Snape."

That surprised Lucius. "Severus?" he asked, not pleased that his voice cracked and he had to swallow down a rush of grief for his own loss of his longtime friend. When the boy nodded into his shoulder, he pushed further, "Do you miss him, Harry?"

"It's not as though we were close," Harry managed to sound derisive even with a broken voice. "But he shouldn't have died. He didn't deserve it. I was so hateful towards him right up to the end. I watched Nagini kill him and it was terrible, but I didn't feel sad until I saw his memories and saw how much he'd sacrificed. And lost." Harry was in better control of his emotions now, but he sounded very deflated. "He didn't even get a proper buriel."

"But you've done more than your share to put an to end any question as to where his loyalties lied." Lucius said firmly. "The man has been publicly, if only postmortem, exonerated from all crimes, thanks to you."

The boy pulled away then, mopping his face self consciously and putting some space between them. He seemed better, definitely better than he'd been at the ceremony.

"Did you know that Snape was a spy?" Harry asked.

"I suspected it, but never spoke of it," Lucius explained easily, glad he could openly share this. "Severus was my only real friend other than my wife, and I wanted what was best for him. We were not safe to speak our minds at any time, so I kept my suspicions to myself, hoping that in return he could help Draco survive."

"But Draco wanted fame and glory," Harry filled in. "If he and I had ever been able to be friends, I would have warned him that it wasn't worth it..." the boy's voice tapered off and he shook his head.

"And?" Lucius prompted.

"Draco was a bully," Harry said sharply, his eyes holding Lucius' and there was no doubt about the suffering behind his words. "He taunted me ruthlessly, always knowing just what to say to set me off, and between him and Snape, it was all I could do to keep my wand in my pocket and my mouth shut. And I failed at that plenty of times." He looked away from Lucius then. "I cast a terrible spell at Draco, not knowing how awful it was. I could have killed him. I tried to apologize for it, but he wouldn't hear it. I don't blame him."

"It's all in the past, Harry. We can accept responsibility for those actions now. I think we could get past them if we considered our interpretation of the circumstances of the time. We Malfoys made a lot of poor choices."

"So did the Potters," Harry said softly, seeming to be lost in thought.

"Father?" Draco's voice interrupted them as both turned toward the approaching footsteps. When Draco saw Harry, he stopped short. "Oh, my apologies, Potter, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Harry wiped his eyes again, replacing his glasses as he muttered, "S'okay, Draco. Your dad was just setting me straight on a few things."

Lucius raised a surprised eyebrow and Harry shot him a pained grimace of defeat, clearly knowing there was no point in pretending he hadn't been crying.

Draco smirked, but with a kinder manner than he'd ever shown Harry in the past. "Been there, Potter." He stared at the dark haired teen for a long moment, saying nothing about his appearance, nor the new moisture gathering in Harry's eyes. "How are you these days, Harry?" he asked.

"Not great," Harry said quietly, eyes averted again.

"Maybe we could try to talk things out sometime," Draco offered softly. "When you feel up to it?"

Harry's eyes darted up to meet Draco's. His voice wavered and then broke as he said, "I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"I don't doubt it," Draco said. He was losing his nerve, but he'd promised both parents to do what he must to be a better wizard. "Sounds like you might just need a place to go sometimes to get away from the day to day bothers."

"What are you suggesting?" Harry asked, and swiped again at his tearful eyes.

"Come have dinner at the manor, Harry," Lucius interjected. "Tonight. See if you can be comfortable there. If you can, you are welcome any time."

"Why?" Harry asked again.

"Because it's hard to be on your own all of the time, isn't it?"

"Horrible things happened at your manor, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said tensely. "To me and to my friends, and I saw a lot of others suffer there through my link to Voldemort."

Lucius could not hide his shock. "You witnessed our activities?"

"Yeah. My scar was a horcrux. I had what I thought were visions, but it was a far deeper connection to that bastard. Snape tried to teach me to Occlude, but I only finally sort of learned to after he killed-" Harry caught himself hastily and cleared his throat, looking painfully back and forth between the blond father and son, who had similar expressions of regret and clenched jaws. "I saw a lot, and because I was in Voldemort's head, I felt his _glee,_ and rage, and _hate_."

"That is_ …difficult _to hear," Lucius ground out shamefully. "You should _not_ have seen any of that!"

"There was no way to stop it." Harry said brokenly and swiped at his eyes again. "He was too powerful. And if I told anybody about it, I might have given myself away to him. Not to mention the danger I was already putting Snape in just by him knowing."

"We knew that there was some kind of connection between you and Voldemort," Lucius admitted, his remorse visible to Harry. "And knew that he'd used it to lure you to the Ministry for the prophecy, but had no idea of the breadth of what you could see."

"Merlin," Draco whispered. "I didn't know, Potter. I swear I didn't know." Again Harry nodded, but could say nothing more.

They stood there silently while each contemplated the odd circumstances of this moment. Lucius struggled to control a rather forceful surge of regret that could easily leave him in a weeping, sopping heap if he gave in to it. Draco realized he had a real opportunity to extend an olive branch to Harry Potter. Harry marveled that he had been _hugged_ by Lucius Malfoy, and that he felt certain the man's regret was genuine.

Finally, Draco spoke again. "Harry, the manor is not what you remember. We've been heavily fined by the Ministry. We've sold most of the furniture, and gutted out all of the dark artifacts. It's actually quite… different now. Quite tranquil. You should come for dinner. We've been dining outside on the grass these last few weeks. It's been... nice."

"I don't think I'd be very good company."

"Nonsense," Lucius said, determined to win Harry over now. "You will see. It will be a good change of scene for you." He watched the teen again wipe his eyes for the umpteenth time.

"Alright," Harry agreed.

"Good lad," Lucius praised. "Draco, let's find your mother and return home with our guest."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Failure to Thrive - Part III

A month of Sundays later, Lucius said a heartfelt goodnight to Harry, watching him walk down the back path to the apparition area. Harry gave a small wave when he reached the clearing and turned on the spot with a soft _pop_, disapparating back to his godfather's house.

They had just had a lengthy discussion on the merits of muggle medicine, specifically in the area of eyesight, over dinner. Harry was tired of wearing glasses and wanted to undergo a muggle procedure that could potentially restore his eyesight. It was called Lasik surgery, and sounded utterly barbaric. All of the Malfoys were alarmed and fearful of the risk he would be taking, but they had failed to talk him out of it. It was the first truly independent thing that Harry would be doing since the final battle, so Lucius tried to regard the plan in a positive light. He had insisted that he would accompany the boy when he had the procedure done. Harry had laughed a hearty guffaw until he saw that the blond man was completely serious and growing stern. He had hastily apologized and agreed to the escort, but explained that they would need to travel by muggle means and therefore be in the muggle world for hours on end. Lucius had informed him quite frankly that he had some familiarity with muggle ways, _thank you very much._ Harry had rushed to explain that he suspected that apparition might compromise the healing of his eyes, so they'd need to take the Tube, or walk, and floo home from the Leaky Cauldron. Lucius had agreed, and the easy feeling of something between friendship and family was resumed.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Less than two weeks later on a sunny Friday afternoon, Lucius appeared in a nicely cut muggle ensemble of dark slacks and camelhair sports jacket and accompanied Harry to have his procedure done. He insisted on being in the room while the boy underwent the laser surgery and held his concerns at bay in the light of what he considered tremendous bravery on Harry's part.

They left the office with Harry's glasses in his pocket and prescribed eyedrops for Harry to use several times a day to help his eyes heal.

"I think the doctor thought you were an artist, or a musician. He kept looking at you like he thought he should recognize you," Harry teased. "The long hair definitely says _rock 'n roll."_

"And is that good or bad, in your perception?" Lucius asked with amusement.

"Oh, it's good," Harry grinned.

"You feel no pain then?" Lucius asked him as they walked.

"No, and I can see _everything._ Well, mostly. Some of it's blurry, but loads better than I ever could without glasses!" Harry was craning his neck to look at everything he could possibly lay his eyes upon.

"Would you like to stop for something to eat?" Lucius asked on impulse. He recognized an iconic muggle restaurant across the street. "Perhaps McDonald's?"

Harry turned to him in very youthful surprise at the idea of an adult offering him fast food. "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

They entered the establishment and the overwhelming smell of processed food left Lucius feeling assaulted. He concluded that he should not partake in any sort of meal here and quickly scanned the menu to see what he could order so that he was at least participating in the treat this clearly was for Harry.

"If you want to take that table there, sir, I could order for us," Harry suggested.

"Excellent," Lucius agreed. "I'll have a milkshake. Chocolate. Do you have the correct funds on hand, Harry?"

"Yeah, no problem." Harry said. He flashed a grin as he turned to join the queue.

Lucius sat at the table and surreptitiously cast a wandless _scourgify_ on the surface. _I am not disparaging this society,_ he defended inwardly._ I am merely protecting myself from foreign contaminants. _He noted that Harry was making slow progress in the queue a short distance away as a large, blond haired teen walked up to Harry and tentatively tapped him on the shoulder.

"Harry? It _is_ you," the large oaf said in blatant confusion. "You look really young. Why's that?"

Harry turned and there was no mistaking the shock on his face. "Dudley! What… I really didn't expect to ever see you again."

"Why not?" The bigger boy seemed to lose traction at Harry's response. "We're cousins, yeah?"

"Well, it's just-" Harry stopped himself.

"I heard a lot about you while we were at the safe house. Hestia and a few others told me what they had heard while you were on the run. It was a scary year, wasn't it? I was scared. They showed me the newspaper from your world, and I saw how you'd defeated that bad bloke." Dudley seemed to realize he was rambling. "It's just that I really wanted to talk to you sometime. Could we do that? You could send me your owl and we'll set it up?"

"Hedwig was killed right after I left your house," Harry said, already shutting down and going numb.

"Oh, but that ginger fellow, the twin friend of yours, Fred, he told me that when it was all over I could owl you to see about staying in touch."

"Fred died too." Harry said softly.

Dudley appeared to be dumbfounded at that news.

Lucius stood and cautiously approached them as the people behind them in the queue circled around the obstacle they'd become. "Harry? Will you introduce me?"

Harry looked up at his pseudo guardian and his tension was palpable. "Dudley, this is Lucius Malfoy. Lucius, this is my cousin Dudley Dursley."

"Ahh," Lucius said, eyebrows raised. Harry had never yet spoken of his relatives. "A pleasure, Mr. Dursley."

"Uh, you too," Dudley said. "I guess Harry doesn't talk much about us."

"No, but Harry and I have only recently become better acquainted. There is still much to share," Lucius replied, watching Harry.

"Well, I understand if you don't ever want to talk to me again, Harry. I just wanted to tell you that I know you saved my life a few years back from those Dementey things. Probably saved the lot of us when we didn't even know it. All of the wizards who were looking out for us said you were really great." Dudley faltered. Harry wasn't giving him any help. He looked over at Lucius. "He didn't have a nice life with us, is all. And I just wanted to say sorry about that."

And with that, the awkward young muggle turned and walked out of the restaurant.

"Can we just leave?" Harry asked. His expression had grown pinched from his inner turmoil.

Lucius frowned, his concern now turning protective. "Of course." He cupped his hand around the back of Harry's neck as they exited and kept it there for the long walk back. "You and Mr. Dursley grew up together?"

"No," Harry said shortly. "I lived in a cupboard under the stairs while Dudley had a nice childhood." It was clear from the edge in his voice that he had said all he intended to say on the matter.

Lucious struggled to comprehend what Harry had just revealed, but held his tongue until they were in front of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. "You can talk to me about anything, Harry. Do you know that?" The boy kept his eyes averted and nodded noncommittally. "I'm not comfortable leaving you alone in this state," he added. "Perhaps you could come back to the manor for a while. We won't press you to talk and you could be alone with your thoughts."

"I'm alright, sir. Hermione and Ron will be here in a bit and they're staying all weekend. Hermione will fuss over me. You don't have to worry." Then as if remembering what Lucius had done for him, "I'm really glad you were with me today."

Lucius smiled at Harry fondly. How quickly the boy had wormed his way into his heart. "I couldn't have allowed you to go alone. I'd have been worried the entire time."

Harry managed a responding smile for him and then bade him goodbye. Lucius watched him enter the house, but still felt unsettled about the boy's mood. He disapparated to the manor.

"We can't expect him to trust us blindly, darling," Narcissa told Lucius when he'd recapped the days events as he'd witnessed. "We've yet to earn that from him. We _are_ doing something right though. He keeps coming back for Sunday dinner."

"True," Lucius reluctantly accepted her wisdom on the matter.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Their unlikely makeshift family unit fell into a comfortable rhythm that held strong all through the summer. Draco took a membership at an Irish summer club, and spent his weekdays there, immersed in a study of both muggle and wizard culture in the British Isles. The two senior Malfoys put their energies into remodeling both the external grounds and the interior of the manor. Since they had far less gold in their vault these days, they took the time to practice decorative charms, and were able to refurnish and repaint through long-term transfiguration, often utilizing the mismatched pieces that had not sold at auction. Narcissa especially had excelled at the interior decoration. Lucius was finding that he had a knack for drawing the layouts so that they could plan the changes as they went along.

Harry had thus far spent every weekday and Saturday at Hogwarts. The massive clean-up and rebuilding effort were underway. All three Malfoys had offered their assistance but had been denied because they were deemed untrustworthy with the sensitive magic being rewoven into the building. That had hurt, but not been unexpected. They regularly told Harry that they in no way wanted to use him to segue back into the good graces of the wizarding world. He seemed to believe them, but both Lucius and Narcissa feared he could change his mind if they were not careful.

The subject of muggle attire came up often. The senior Malfoys quickly gave up on offering any guidance on wizarding etiquette in that regard. Harry dressed entirely muggle these days, not feeling any sort of need to justify his choice to anyone. The gossip grapevine that Draco occasionally tapped into credited Harry Potter with the trend among the younger wizarding population to mix jeans and jumpers into their wardrobes, often wearing an open robe over the casual attire as a new take on wizarding traditions. Draco would tease Harry about being a trend setter, and laughed at Harry's return barbs about how great Draco looked in the tight-fitting black t-shirts he was in the habit of wearing under his own robes, along with jeans of course.

The mood was consistently light, often set by Harry's easy manner which left no real room for their formal ways of the past. Yet there was a very clear undertone of support for the healing of emotional wounds within their circle. The Malfoy parents took it upon themselves to play the role of counsel for the younger wizards, establishing the Sunday meal as the time to share ideas, recap the goings on, and on occasion, express concerns. The result after these first three months was that Draco had ventured way outside of the small social circle of his past and was meeting wizards and witches from all walks of life. Harry seemed to have stabilized emotionally to some degree, and had slowly worked through some of the grief he felt. His manner was less despondent and he was less guarded around them. It was difficult to measure if he'd regained physical age at this point, and neither Narcissa nor Lucius had yet brought up this concern. Thus far, Harry had shared little about his inner turmoil other than to admit he felt guilty for not having finished the horcrux hunt sooner.

All three Malfoys could see he was inclined to take responsibility for the many deaths he felt such heartache over. They would discuss this in short non-threatening conversations that were hopefully laying the groundwork of trust from Harry to know he could count on their support.

Time would tell.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four - Failure to Thrive - Part IV

By September's end, Narcissa had comfortably mastered preparing their family meals herself, proud that they had freed all of their house elves in a gesture of good will to that race. The elves had not been pleased at first, but then had received invitations to serve at Hogwarts and had been overjoyed at that prospect. Harry had mentioned previously that he knew how to cook and Narcissa had invited him to help on this late September Sunday. This had finally provided an opportunity for her to spend time with Harry where they could be on common ground and not feel awkward. The boy had done more than his fair share of the cooking and had impressed Narcissa when he'd cast warming charms on the food, and then proceeded with the washing up of the cookware, using cleaning charms Molly had taught him.

As she watched Harry levitate the last of the washed pots to the cupboard, she decided to broach the subject that she had discussed with her husband repeatedly. They had let months go by without acknowledging Harry's small stature, mostly because they knew the cause, and knew the cure, and had always had his health in mind as they continued their weekly dinners. But Minerva McGonagall had surprised Narcissa with a visit today to discuss Harry's health with her, and had informed her that Madam Pomfrey had made repeated attempts to start Harry on treatment, but he had refused. This was terribly concerning for the senior Malfoys, so it was clearly time to act.

"Headmistress McGonagall paid us a visit today, Harry," Narcissa told him. "Apparently you've let her know that we've had some success with our remodeling." She smiled at the dark haired teen as he gave her his full attention. "She requested a tour around the manor. I can tell you that it was quite lovely to hear such high praise from my former Transfiguration Professor. Quite lovely. And, it bridged a gap between us, which I am terribly grateful to you for, although I am not in any way assuming that was your intent."

"I thought she should see what you and Lucius have done with your talent around here," Harry said. "I'd like to learn how to do some of that kind of spellwork. Some paint charms, at the very least. Grimmauld Place needs sprucing up pretty badly."

"I'm am at your service if you'd like to set a time to do some practice."

"It will have to be after the Hogwarts reconstruction has calmed down," Harry said. "It's looking like there will be a couple more months of the same kind of work before the real magical reconstruction can begin. I won't be able to help as much with that part, I imagine." He levitated the place mats into a stack beside the plates they would conjure outdoors for the picnic.

"Harry," she said softly, waiting for him to face her again before continuing. "Lucius and I have a few concerns in regards to your health." Harry's expression hardened, but she kept her tone caring and persevered. "I believe you have a condition that happens to younger wizards when they experience great trauma in their teen years. In fact I'm sure you've got it. It's called _Failure to Thrive._ Have you heard of this?"

"No, ma'am," Harry said in a tight voice, keeping his eyes averted from hers. He already knew something was wrong. Madam Pomfrey had been after him to come see her, but he'd been unable to pull himself away from his work on the rebuild. There was no denying something was definitely off. When Harry looked in the mirror, he saw the boy that he'd last seen over three years ago. He'd already turned 18, but he still looked like a small 15 year old. And he often still felt that young. Sometimes he wondered if this was the reason he was unable to hold his sadness in check. Things in that regard had improved, and he'd only broken down a few times in front of his new pseudo guardians. But privately, he was likely to cry at night, for hours, in the darkness of his bedroom. The heartbreak never seemed to lessen. If he started to feel lighter about Remus, he'd mourn for Fred, or Sirius, or Dumbledore… or Snape….

"It's the reason that you still look like a boy, rather than a young man," Narcissa was continuing, and unknowingly confirming his inner monologue. "Your magic is quite strong and at the point where it should be for your years, but the harsh conditions and terrible traumas you've been through have caused it to shock your physical body into a state of suspended development, and has actually pulled away some of your aging." She moved into his line of vision, forcing him to look at her. "Were you not bigger and more developed when I saw you here, fighting Bella, or in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes," Harry whispered. "It can be cured, can't it?" he asked anxiously.

"It can, darling. By quite simple means: rest and good nutrition."

"Oh," Harry said. His eyes grew troubled as he added. "But that's not _simple_ for me."

"It's a change in behavior, that's all, Harry."

"You don't understand," Harry said tersely, at once growing defensive. _He was doing the best he could._

Narcissa reached out and cupped his cheek. "No, I probably don't understand. But I want to." Harry pulled away, trying to hide the unsettled disappointment that he was feeling. "Come, let us have our meal and relax. We can talk this out later, alright?"

"Yeah," Harry whispered.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

They were dining at the table today, as there was a light drizzle and the air was full of the scent of fresh, wet grass. The subject of the younger wizards finishing their educations came up, and Harry successfully diverted attention to Draco, who had been considering finishing up at Durmstrang, but had just admitted he was thinking he should wait to return to Hogwarts.

"It will be difficult to go back, but I think I'd better," he told his parents. "I don't mind the delay in the start of term, either. I think it's been good to have this time to regroup."

"I am in agreement, son," Lucius said, much to his son's visible relief.

Draco asked a loaded question as they continued to eat. "So, Harry, are you getting backlash for being friends with us?"

"Probably," Harry answered dismissively. "Apparently there's an entire daily column devoted to the subject in the _Prophet. _But I stopped reading that old rag after they cowtailed to Umbridge last year." He caught the Malfoys all exchanging grim looks. "People seem to have a lot to say about my muggle clothes and small size… but I just can't be bothered with giving their opinions much thought right now."

At Narcissa's prompting nod, Lucius cleared his throat. "Harry," he said in his commanding tone.

"Yes, sir?" It was obvious the boy knew what was coming.

"I think you are in a better emotional state now, and that it would be a good time to work on your health. I want you to follow a new set of rules for the next several months. Will you do that?" Lucius deliberately asked for his compliance, but let his tone declare that he expected nothing less.

"Is it about my eating and sleeping habits, sir?" Harry asked defensively.

"Indeed it is, and rather silly to think that it's necessary-"

"You don't understand!" Harry said harshly, ending the tranquility of their pleasant dinner and glaring at Lucius.

Lucius remained calm, realizing that he was going to have to be quite assertive with the boy on this subject. He rose to his feet. "Walk with me, Harry."

"I'd rather not!" Harry bellowed, not liking how trapped he was suddenly feeling.

"It was not a request, young man," Lucius said in a more dangerous tone.

Harry gulped, but held onto his bravado. "I don't have to listen to you, you know. You're not my father!"

"No," Lucius agreed in the same steely tone, "I am not." He circled around the table to Harry and grabbed his upper arm, pulling him to his feet, tightening his grip when Harry struggled to pull away. He lowered his face to be level with Harry's as he warned, "I am your friend who feels fatherly concern for your welfare, and therefore honor bound to look out for you." He started walking, taking the boy with him, leaving the peaceful scene beneath the shade tree and heading to a secluded spot on the farthest side of the manor.

"It's not like I don't eat on purpose!" Harry said resentfully, trying and failing again to extricate himself from the older man's grip. "Let go of me!"

"I will not," Lucius said sternly. He walked on, seeking an area that was out of sight to both Draco and Narcissa. "This is very important, Harry," Lucius continued, still in his sternest voice, "and at the _very least,_ you can expect a stern lecture from me in future if you cannot seem to change your habits of self care to include eating a minimum of three proper meals each day and sleeping at least eight hours each night."

Harry finally succeeded in wrenching his arm out of the older man's grip. He turned to stalk off toward the apparition site, but was stopped in his tracks by the commanding tone of his pseudo guardian.

_"You will do me the courtesy of having a civil discussion about this, young man."_

Harry turned to face Lucius Malfoy, a wash of defeat flowing over him, making him feel trapped and helpless in a way he'd not felt in some time. He didn't question that Lucius would follow through with some form of consequence if he refused to comply, and suddenly wondered if he might even find himself getting spanked like a bratty child if he pushed his luck. But since Harry really didn't _want_ to walk away from the bond that had grown between him and the Malfoys, he realized he either had to have this conversation or find out what Lucius would do to him if he refused.

"Harry, can you not see why I am forcing this issue with you, son?"

"I'm not trying to harm myself-" Harry tried to be defiant and unyielding, but he couldn't help but be affected by the shift to kindness in Lucius' question. "Lucius, I honestly _can't_ eat a lot of the time. I get sick to my stomach."

"Yes, I'm sure you do," Lucius agreed. "And, I'll bet you have terrible nightmares that affect your sleep as well, don't you?"

"Yeah," Harry said, calming a bit.

"Harry, you are eighteen years old, already a year into your legal majority."

"I know."

"You are the only one who can make your health a priority. You realize, you _could_ choose to reduce your efforts at Hogwarts just enough to relax your mind and body so that you can get sufficient rest and eat properly. It's that simple. Work less if your appetite is so badly affected. If you have bad dreams and lose sleep, take extra time for a nap during the day to help to compensate. You must cease the practice of existing on poor nutrition and little rest. That's all you have to do, young man. No one is going to think less of you, or that you're not doing enough."

"How do you know?"

"I've told you before, foolish boy, that you are deeply loved and cared for by many." Lucius gave in to the urge to pull Harry into a tight hug. "And I count myself among them." He was gratified when Harry yielded to the embrace, and after a few seconds was leaning into him and circling his arms around Lucius' middle.

For Lucius, this kind of concession in a battle of wills was a conquest in its own right, but he was immeasurably relieved that the boy had come around. Still worried, he pressed on, "Have I made my point, son?" He couldn't see Harry's face, but was aware of his chest heaving and could see the boy was swiping at his eyes. Lucius rubbed Harry's back. "Your state of health is important enough for me to go to great lengths to convince you to take better care. Do you understand this, Harry?"

"No one ever has before," came the hurt response.

"And that is a horrible shame, but it is something that cannot be changed in your past. I care now, son. Try to look forward, alright?" he waited for Harry's responding nod against his shoulder before continuing. "Everyone in our world was affected by Voldemort's invasion, and many of us were powerless, and at our _very worst_ because of it. But there is no such peril in the world now. You can take the time to let yourself feel better." Lucius was trying not to falter. It seemed like the boy was listening and taking comfort in the embrace, but… he continued, hoping he wasn't rambling, "And while by helping repair Hogwarts, you are doing your part in rebuilding our society, no one would want you to compromise your health to do so, Harry. There's no call for it now. The worst of it is over. You can slow down and pace yourself. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded again, but he was still upset.

"Tell me what hurts you right now, Harry."

"I've been feeling like I don't fit in anywhere," Harry said brokenly. "Sometimes I feel like I should go live in muggle London, or maybe the States. Just start completely over, where no one knows anything about me."

Lucius could feel his heart breaking at the idea of Harry leaving. "I don't blame you for your thoughts, but feel compelled to correct you and say that you fit in quite nicely right here, with us. Nonetheless, I beg you to trust me when I say that before you make such a major change, you need to get your health back in balance."

The boy was pulling away from him by the time he finished.

"I do trust you, sir. You've been really great, so I want you to know I'm grateful, okay?" The words were heartfelt, but Harry had visibly put up an emotional wall.

Now Lucius' eyes filled. "Please don't give up, son." he said earnestly.

Harry gave a little smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I like that you call me _son."_ He stepped away and took a few more steps backward, putting distance between them. "Tell Narcissa goodbye and thank you, and Draco, will you?"

Lucius nodded. "Harry-"

"You did the right thing, sir. I need to get things together, and I'm going to do better, I promise. But you made me think about stuff that I can't talk about right now."

Lucius frowned. "We'll see you next Sunday?"

"Of course, sir." Harry's eyes filled again. "I'm sorry I'm such a pain in the arse." With that, he turned and ran to the apparition area and _popped_ out of view.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry did indeed return the following week, and he was pleasant and truthful when he said he'd managed to eat three meals each day and had been in bed for eight hours each night. But it had been hard for him to do, and there were no visible signs of improvement yet. The senior Malfoys noted the continued detachment that Harry exuded, but decided to give him time to make the changes he needed to make. They chatted about easy things until Draco shocked them all by suggesting they go to the muggle cinema the following weekend, and to dine out in muggle London.

And they did just that, meeting outside of Diagon Alley, everyone dressed _muggle casual,_ blending right in. It was then up to Harry to show them the way to the theatre and purchase tickets to an American romantic comedy that they all enjoyed for different reasons. Lucius took the lead on the dinner out and they enjoyed a nice meal together to finish off the evening.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five - Failure to Thrive - Part V

The very next day, Harry was due to appear at the trial of Dolores Umbridge. He was not looking forward to it, and in fact, his roiling stomach had kept him awake until well after midnight the night prior. He grumbled grouchily when Kreacher prodded him awake early Monday morning. He dressed quickly, adding the sport coat over his jeans that Lucius had given an approving nod the previous evening, and managed a decent breakfast before apparating to the Ministry. He entered through the public entrance, ignoring the turning heads and hushed observations that always lingered in the air as he passed. Lucius had also been called to appear, but by_ the defense,_ and so had not suggested they attend together. Anyway, today Harry was there as a third of The Golden Trio.

Ron and Hermione were waiting outside the courtroom, looking about as unenthusiastic as he felt. No one had said so out loud, but they were all grateful there would be no prosecution for their Polyjuice-enabled infiltration of the Ministry the previous year.

"Alright, mate?" Ron asked as Harry approached.

"Just great," Harry snarked as they did the one armed man-hug that had become their habit of late. "You?"

"Keep your eyes and ears open," Ron warned. "I won't be convinced she's really out of our hair until she's convicted and transported."

Hermione hugged Harry, and he could see she was nervous. "The Umbridge story is an ugly tale to tell, but we'll be done in a couple of hours."

_"Right,"_ Harry agreed.

They entered the court and waited to be called for their testimonies. There were many familiar faces scattered among those seated in attendance. Harry nodded in greeting to Minerva McGonagall and each of the surviving Hogwarts professors from fifth year, and finally to Lucius. He had a fleeting moment of dearly wishing that Professor Snape was there, even if he would have likely spent the entire time glowering at Harry. Somehow, knowing that the potions master had reviled the pink clad, kitten-obsessed witch almost felt like camaraderie between them.

The defendant was led into the courtroom and seated in the magical confinement behind a transparent partition. She wore her standard pink, and while her overall body had reduced in size during her incarceration, her toadlike jowls had expanded and now drooped enough to obscure her neck entirely from view. The council for the defense called Lucius to testify as a character witness. The blond wizard was overtly blunt in his honesty about his own manipulative actions at the time, and ultimately portrayed Dolores Umbridge as the power-hungry puppet of former Minster of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. After that fiasco, the defense tried a new tactic, asking for leniency _each_ and _every_ time he had the floor. It was an obvious ploy, but not without merit, as the defendant was now beginning to come across as a victim herself, who was easily prone to breakdowns. The entire hearing seemed to center around the fact that ol' Dolores had lost her sanity. Again.

"Of course she's lost her sanity," Ron muttered. "Look at the bloody bow in her hair!"

The Golden Trio were the last to be questioned, and were only asked to recap their time at Hogwarts under the High Inquisitor's reign of terror. When it was Harry's turn, he looked Dolores Umbridge in the eye and saw with absolute clarity that she was completely in control of her faculties. His skin crawled, and his sensory memory of her creepy, vile taunting as she'd supervised his lines came rushing back. He refrained from revealing that she'd made him use the blood quill, having no intention of admitting in her presence that she'd had that much power over him. _That he still bore scars from her cruelty._ He was dismissed after he had done his part to confirm the facts that were the basis of the charges against her.

A mob of reporters swarmed them as they made their way out of the court. "First one to reach _the LC_ grabs the table!" Ron called over their heads as they were forced apart by literal walls of determined observers. Harry ignored all of the questions directed his way and eventually darted around a very tall and fat wizard, ducking behind the enormous robes for cover while he slipped under his invisibility cloak. It took some maneuvering, but he managed to get over to Hermione and get the cloak over her as well. Ron's height and solid build were enough to cause the crowd to part on his behalf.

"It's not over, not by a long shot," Harry told Ron and Hermione as they regrouped and exited the Ministry together. "She's no more insane than I am. There's more trouble brewing with her."

"She's in custody, Harry. What could she possibly pull?" Hermione reasoned.

Ron muttered something raunchy under his breath about exactly what Umbridge could _pull,_ inducing a bark of laughter from Harry and a scornful look of reproach from Hermione.

They'd not gone a block when a familiar screech of rage sounded from a short distance behind them. They each flinched involuntarily, shooting each other looks of utter disbelief, and the next three seconds passed in a blur.

Harry was hit with a blasting curse that sent him flying through the air. A split second later he landed against a hastily cast cushioning charm at the very same time that his counter curse hit his assailant, who had already shot a slicing hex at Hermione, who had shielded with wicked precision, in time for Ron's well-aimed _petrificus totalis,_ quickly followed by Hermione's _incarcerous_. None of the Trio cast verbally any longer, so the scattered yells of alarm in the middle of it all came from the onlookers, and simultaneously buffered the sounds of the spells and their impact on Dolores Umbridge. Red robed aurors raced to the scene to surround the escaped prisoner and take her back into custody.

"Harry!" Several voices yelled as people charged towards him.

"I'm fine," Harry said as he picked himself up from the sidewalk in front of the building he'd just been thrown against. "How in the bloody hell did she get loose so fast?" He brushed off his clothes. Lucius was the first to reach him, pulling him into a panicked embrace. Harry could hear the man's heart pounding beneath his ear. "I'm fine, honestly," Harry told his pseudo guardian. He hugged Lucius back, but pulled away first as the rest of the crowd reached them.

"Have the aurors got her then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron said. His face broke into a grin. "Nice recovery, mate. She can try all she likes, but she'll never _best_ you, will she?"

Harry smirked at that.

"From what I could see, it looks like none of you was bested," Lucius noted.

"And clearly not as rattled by it all as the rest of us." Minerva inserted. "Are any of you hurt? I think we should adjourn to Hogwarts and let Poppy look you each over."

"Nothing happened," Harry protested, but a firm grip on his shoulder made him close his mouth and answer reluctantly, "Yes, ma'am."

Minerva gave Lucius an approving look for his assertion with Harry. "You come along as well, Mr. Malfoy," she said. "It's time to adjust the wards to grant you access to the school again."

Harry shot a look up at Lucius and saw the poorly disguised emotion on the older wizard's face and decided not to protest any further. "I suppose it would be better to be _there_ when the aurors come to get our statements."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

When they had assembled in the infirmary, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to appear and having been joined by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry began to feel the need to beg off of all the attention. He realized belatedly that having Lucius there would put a strain on the Weasleys and Hermione, who had thus far not questioned Harry's relationship with the Malfoys. In all truth, he had no idea where they stood on the subject.

The school's healer came into the crowded infirmary with eyebrows raised and her standard _tsk-tsk-ing_ at the situation that The Golden Trio had yet again managed to find themselves in. "Honestly, even now when we're in peacetime, the three of you have to go and take on the likes of Dolores Umbridge."

"We're all fine," Harry insisted. "Ron and Hermione handled her."

Ron snorted. "Come on, Harry, we all saw the ferocity of your stunner. Took her right down, you did. Hermione and I simply finished her off."

"You practically cast it simultaneously with your cushioning charm!" Hermione declared. She was smiling, clearly impressed.

"And what about your shield?" Harry argued. "You cast just as quickly as I did!"

"I wasn't flying through the air, was I?" Hermione returned.

"A small detail," Harry muttered dismissively, but caught Ron's eye and grinned back at him.

Lucius had been standing beside Harry the whole time. He cupped his hand around Harry's head and ducked down to say in a quiet voice, "Do let Madam Pomfrey give you a thorough check, alright?" He lay his cheek on Harry's temple and stayed close, waiting for the boy's acquiescence.

Touched by the nurturing gesture, Harry nodded. When he dutifully asked the medi-witch for a full evaluation, he pretended not to notice the triumph in the eyes of the Headmistress, the Weasleys, the- well, _everyone_ present.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

As the autumn season progressed, the school board officially announced that rather than have a late start in the term, the entire school year would be cancelled while the reparations continued. The following year would offer all of Harry's class a proper repeat of their 7th year along with Ginny's and Luna's class. Harry and Lucius had again had a battle of wills, this time regarding the completion of Harry's education. Harry had no intention of returning to school. He had conceded to Lucius' demand that he keep an open mind, if only to once again avoid finding out what would happen if he did not. But Lucius was not fooled, and worried that the boy would still refuse to go when Hogwarts finally reopened. He concluded that he'd have to continue on with his dedicated interest in the boy's progress. Thus far, he could see minor improvement in Harry's physical appearance. He had grown perhaps an inch and gained a few pounds, but was still far from having recouped what he'd lost when the condition had set in. It was unknown just how long recovery should take, but Madam Pomfrey had insisted that if Harry acquired and maintained a better state of health, he should regain the lost time in at least a two-to-one ratio, returning to his full adult size in less than eighteen months. He was far from achieving this, but he _was_ moving forward.

And that was how things stood on the Sunday evening that found Severus Snape standing in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, a month before the one year anniversary of the Final Battle.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N It's occurred to me that I am also disregarding the Epilogue, which I hadn't disclaimed previously. You'll see what I mean as the story goes along. Can't help it - it's what the muse narrates in my head. Enjoy!**_

Chapter Six - Failure To Thrive - Snape Returns Part I

It was late evening when Severus Snape quietly _popped_ into view just outside the gates of Hogwarts. Dressed in a long, heavy brown coat over black jeans and zippered V-neck gray jumper, he imagined he would not easily be recognized should he be seen. So, he stood and stared for a long while. The scents in the early spring air were familiar, and he was waiting to see if they would trigger the old negative emotions that he'd been free from feeling for nearly a year now. There _was_ an underlying edge, but it was not powerful enough to make him turn back._ I've come this far, after all,_ he thought as he hitched the strap of the leather bag he carried higher on his shoulder. He didn't want to shrink it down to pocket size because there was a laptop computer packed in it among the rest of his clothing and random belongings, which he _had_ shrunk. He tapped his wand on the gate handle and was actually quite surprised that it opened for him. He'd already formulated the message to send with his patronus to Minerva. But now he could say it in person. She was the first one he'd come to see, because she was the one who'd endured the worst of him in those final days. How many times had she told him over the years that she knew damned well there was a _nice person_ under those layers of hatred and prickly responses, and that she herself would just have to hold out until he was ready to share it?

So, here he was.

He unbuttoned his coat as he hiked up the grounds. He noticed the plume of smoke coming from Hagrid's Hut, and was surprised to find that the thought of seeing the half-giant again was not so off-putting. Now that there was nothing left to pretend about or to hide, Severus Snape was able to enjoy virtually everything that had been an utter pain in his arse in the past. _Even the likes of Hagrid._ The castle was in full view and he could see the lingering signs of disrepair. _The destruction was quite extensive, then._ He caught the sight of the white tomb encasing Albus' remains and he stopped for a moment. _Greetings, Albus._ His chest tightened, but on he went. Severus reminded himself that he was going to hear about all who had been lost in that battle now. He'd not allowed himself to wonder about the extent of the human carnage while he'd recovered. The past eleven months in the States had been about getting to know that side of himself that Minerva had spoken of. And he'd done just that, and had experienced a lightness of heart that had eluded him entirely until he'd left this place behind.

_But I am glad to be back. And I will stay as long as I can maintain this mindset._

He reached the front entrance and strode up the stairs, all at once realizing that the dramatic swirl of robes was absent and that what he currently wore was going to shock Minerva as much as his sudden reappearance. Stepping into the Entrance Hall, he saw that great lengths had been taken to restore the interior completely. His eyes rested on the House hourglasses and the sparkling gemstones within. He felt that sense of _home_ that used to come over him as a boy and smiled.

"Severus Snape, you _wretched, treacherous-"_ Minerva McGonagall startled him from behind. He spun to face her, smile still intact. _"Severus?"_ This time the anger was gone and her voice broke.

"It is I, Madam," he said, and bowed to her. She shocked him completely by rushing up to him and throwing her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him off balance. He awkwardly responded with a pat on her back, and she quickly pulled away and collected herself. They had never shown affection beyond a squeeze of the hand in the past, after all.

"I've hoped all of this time that you hadn't perished. Your portrait remains stagnant, and I've dearly wished it to mean that you lived on." She wiped her eyes with shaking hands and glared at him. "But you are a _wretch_ for not letting me know!" And then as if recalling all of the awful, horrible events and discourse between them before he left, she added grimly, "Although I can certainly see why you fled without a word."

"I could not have recovered my sanity if I had stayed," he told her, allowing the strain of his plight to surface in his voice. "I've most regretted how things were left between us. And you are the first person I have sought out."

"So you've only just returned?"

"Indeed," he said, indicating his bag with a tilt of his head. "I apparated directly here. Thank you for not warding me out, by the way," he smiled again as he said these words, and could see how much impact this had on his old friend.

Minerva smiled widely in return. "Scotch?"

"Please."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

They'd each taken a fortifying sip of Minerva's private stash of 25 year old Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch, and now sat facing each other in the Headmistress' quarters, out of sight of the headmaster portraits for the time being. Severus had said hello to them all, stopping in front of Dumbledore to stare up at him in silence for a long while. Dumbledore had smiled triumphantly down at him, but they'd not spoken. It hadn't seemed necessary.

"You look quite fit, Severus," Minerva told him. "And I see that you share in the very strong trend to dress in muggle attire. Indeed, it's become the norm. Especially for the younger generations. Those of us who are too set in our ways are sticking to robes, but I believe for the rest, it's a proclamation that there will be no more tolerance of hatred for those who dwell outside of the realm of the pureblood wizard."

"Either that, or everyone merely likes to show off their physical attributes," Severus' drawled.

She snorted into her scotch. "Is that what you're doing?" Her crooked smile told him she was teasing.

"What else?" he quipped. "Although I will admit, I was looking forward to the shock value of the sight of me in something without buttons."

"There will be shock value, I assure you," Minerva smiled into her glass. "And likely a fluttering heart, or two."

"Hmmm."

"Will you tell me where you've been?"

"I have been residing in the United States, mostly on the west coast," he told her. "The American wizards are a younger race, so their traditions are not nearly as ancient as ours. They model much of their lives on muggle practices. And with the technological advances of recent times, they feel they'd be fools not to take advantage of muggle computers and transportation, so why try to reinvent fashion?" To illustrate his point, he opened his bag and removed the laptop computer he'd purchased a few months ago and opened it. "It's a small computer, the current rage. I don't think it would work within the castle - unless you've changed the warding to allow electricity to flow through here?"

"We haven't, but I am beginning to see that it may need to be done," Minerva told him. She reached out and ran her fingers over the keyboard, fascinated by the _clicking_ sound the action created. "How extraordinary. And how very brave of you to go to someplace so different. But then, your bravery is in a class of its own, Severus." This last was said with deep conviction, and they both recalled her last words to him as he'd flown out the window: _Coward. _She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Harry told us that you'd played your part all along, as Albus had directed. He taunted Voldemort for his stupidity to think you'd ever aligned yourself with the dark." Her eyes filled as she held his gaze. "I cannot really relay what went through my mind as I heard this, other than intense _relief."_

"It was an unthinkable set of circumstances," Severus murmured. He sipped his scotch. She still had his hand, her thumb swiping gently back and forth in a comforting, maternal way. "My world as I knew it ceased to exist that day. I've since been learning what it's like to experience _basic _emotions, like _amusement_ and _admiration_. Being in a state of perpetual irritation is no longer my lifestyle."

"No one will recognize you," Minerva said lightly. She pulled her hand back to cup around her glass. "You have been publicly exonerated from any responsibility for Voldemort's evil deeds. You can thank Harry for that."

"And what did that boy do, exactly?" Severus asked softly. He'd thought a lot about Harry Potter recently. While his old prejudices against the boy insisted Potter had likely broadcasted his memories on a massive, cinema style screen to every wizard he could find an audience with, deep down, Severus had known better. "Obviously, the boy survived the battle, although I'm baffled to know how he possibly could have."

"You knew his scar was a horcrux then?" Minerva began and at his nod, continued, "and _that_ piece of Voldemort had to be destroyed, along with all of the others that Potter, Granger and Weasley had hunted down, as you know. They succeed in that quest, but there was still Albus' wand, which Voldemort had taken. Harry knew that Voldemort had not mastered The Elder Wand. He _taunted_ Voldemort for having killed you so that he could be its master. He told us all that you'd never disarmed Albus. Draco Malfoy had. And Harry had disarmed Draco a few weeks prior. When Voldemort cast the _Avada Kedavra_ at Harry in the Forbidden Forest, it killed _the horcrux,_ not Harry. The Elder Wand considered Harry its master."

"So that brat has survived the killing curse twice now?" Severus demanded. His tone held ironic wonder, rather than his traditional disdain.

Minerva smiled her approval. "Three times, technically. Harry faked his death in the forest and managed to get away. He turned up to face Voldemort in the Great Hall, just as Kingsley, Horace and I lost a duel to him. Harry faced Voldemort yet again, called him _Tom,_ called him _a fool,_ told _all_ of us that you'd betrayed him to the end. They shot curses simultaneously-"

"Potter used _expelliarmus?"_ Severus interrupted knowingly.

"Of course!" Minerva confirmed with a laugh. "That inhuman, reptilian maniac cast the killing curse again, and it rebounded off of Harry's spell and killed him instantly."

Severus stared at her in awe. "I shouldn't be surprised." He felt a touch of pride for the boy's bravery. "How is Potter doing?"

Minerva's glow for her favorite lion shuttered noticeably. "He manifested the Failure To Thrive Syndrome. It had probably already set in by the time he returned to the castle. Within a matter of days after the battle, he'd de-aged back to what I remember of him after the third task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He's made some progress, but his recovery has been very sluggish. He's shut out anyone who tries to intervene. Except the Malfoys, oddly, who have taken a strong interest in his well-being and have helped him get to the point he's at now."

Severus' jaw dropped and he could find no words. He couldn't imagine either one of his old friends taking a _nurturing_ role in Potter's life. He _could_ imagine Lucius using a cane on the boy, however. He cleared his throat and shook his head, noticing Minerva's amusement. "And he's improving, you say? How is his emotional state?"

"Delicate, is the best word I can think of," Minerva told him. "He's the same old Harry in most ways, but all of the traumas of his past have taken their toll. His emotions are a heavy cloud that visibly shows at times. He had been spending a lot of time here at the castle helping however he could, but we got to the point where he's only been able to observe and learn these past months, and that's taking a toll on him as well. He needs a new focus."

"And his education? I thought he wanted to be an auror?"

"I asked him once if he would return in the autumn and the change in his manner went from sunshine to thunder in the flash of an instant. I've not asked again."

"Hmmm." He took a fortifying swallow of his drink. He wondered how much of his own abuse toward Potter was behind his _heavy cloud?_ And how in the world had Lucius gotten Potter under his wing? He shook his head. "And where do the Malfoys stand in _your_ eyes?" he asked, narrowing his own eyes and tilting his head.

Minerva sipped her scotch. "They've earned my trust, and not just because of the way they've worked with Harry. They really have changed quite dramatically, as you will see."

He could only raise his eyebrows and show his reluctance to believe such a fantastic claim.

"What are your plans, Severus? Will you stay on?"

"I've yet to set a plan. I wanted to spend some time reacquainting myself with this world before I make any decisions," he answered. "Is there a room I can use here for tonight?"

"Your old quarters are as they were, still warded. The elves have kept them intact for you. I suppose that was also the reason I suspected you lived on. Your wards are as stubborn as you are - virtually impenetrable!"

"Yes." Severus smirked. He was enjoying the lightness of their banter and was loathe to move past it, but he needed to hear the worst. "Perhaps you will tell me now about the souls that we lost in the battle?"

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus stood in the sitting room of his Hogwarts quarters, staring at the fire, wiping distractedly at the tears that rolled down his face. It had been difficult to hear about the deaths. _Lupin. Tonks. Fred Weasley._ He'd never let any of them into his heart, it would have been too dangerous, but he felt their absence strongly, realizing he would have been able to be friends with each of them now. It was easy to understand why Potter was so troubled. He imagined the Weasley family had taken their loss quite hard. It had at least been a relief to hear that the entire Malfoy family had survived unscathed. And he was glad for Potter that his closest friends had come through intact as well. As for the losses on the dark side, what a relief to know that Bella had met her maker. And how impressive that Molly had been the one to send her off!

The crackling of the fire permeated his reverie and Severus realized he felt no sense of rightness being in his rooms again. In fact, spending the night here held little appeal. But he would do so, if only to keep out of sight until the Order meeting tomorrow night, when he could make his appearance to the group and be done with it. Then he would go to the Malfoys. And then, probably, the Ministry of Magic.

He sat heavily in the armchair, facing the flames, remembering final conversations he'd had with Albus. And after he'd ended his oldest friend's life, Severus had lost touch with all of the people he'd considered to be sane until his return to this school as the new Headmaster. But he'd not been able to let any of them know he could be trusted. It had been a terrible, terrible time. A time in which his perspective on Harry Potter had changed, and he'd worried about the Golden Trio and their quest. He'd been concerned for their safety when he'd heard the snippets of what they'd gotten up to. If things had played out differently, and he'd been able to participate in the fight, he might have been able to stay beside Potter while he faced Voldemort. Maybe he'd have been the one to help Potter through his health issues this past year.

"Hah!" He barked an ironic laugh at that thought. _I would have traumatized him into de-aging back into his first year, maybe worse…_

Now his smile turned bitter. _I need to go see Petunia, and find out more of Potter's backstory._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven - Failure To Thrive - Snape Returns Part II

The Order still gathered on random evenings as necessary. Their current ranks no longer included the aurors. Those former members had abdicated their memberships to dedicate their energies to service under the highly respected leadership of the newly reelected Minister Shacklebolt. The New Order of the Phoenix had played a major role this past year in the rebuilding of businesses in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, and to the restoration of Hogwarts. It had become a community organization now, and membership in the Order meant connection to the progressive efforts to advance wizarding society into the new millennium.

Minerva McGonagall stood at the head of the magically expanded room and surveyed the active members. She cleared her throat to signal that the meeting was beginning. The room became silent at once. "I have some news..." she said, her eyes bright with emotion. "One of our lost comrades has returned to us." She turned to look towards the back entrance of the kitchen at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Severus Snape entered the narrow interior and solemnly surveyed the shocked faces before him. His eyes darted about in the typical dramatic fashion that he had trademarked as his own so long ago. He scanned the room, cataloguing those who were present: Granger, the Weasleys minus Fred and Charlie, Lee Jordan, newcomers Lovegood, Longbottom, as well as several others from Potter's circle. Every set of eyes was riveted to him, taking in the sight of the seemingly resurrected former Headmaster and reviled potions professor. He knew what they were seeing: His hair was a shorter length that complimented his face and made him appear almost handsome, _and_ it was clean and healthy. His teeth were white, his nose straightened, his coloring normal, and his physique more filled out. The scar on his neck was significant, but he'd managed to magically bleach the horrid redness from it, leaving flesh colored jagged lines that were less dramatic. His clothes fit him well, showing off his long legs and broad shoulders. It was a deliberate presentation of himself as the man he was now free to be.

Free.

Granger clasped her hands tightly in her lap as she addressed him. "Professor Snape, we thought you'd died the night of the Final Battle!"

"Obviously not," Snape returned blandly. "And, I am no longer your Professor."

Severus looked her over. She was openly gawking, a slow stream of unchecked tears tracking down her face as her eyes assessed the flesh revealed above the neckline of his jumper. Rather than react as if his privacy had been invaded, he found himself feeling comforted that she'd been present when he'd received that scar, that she _knew_ how horrific it had been. She looked strained, but as if she'd weathered the war-induced dramas fairly well. Hermione Granger had crossed over into adulthood, and was quite lovely. Severus nodded at her, and she managed a tiny smile at his acknowledgement. He definitely wanted to speak with her, to hear her retelling of the trials the Golden Trio had suffered to get the Chosen One to fulfill his destiny.

Next, Severus looked over at Ronald Weasley and found a man where he expected to find a boy. The youngest male Weasley had already grown up and his gaze held a peer's guarded respect, but it was quite clear that this former student still retained a significant amount of resentment for the way Severus had treated them all while they were in school.

Addressing the group, he spoke slowly and purposefully, "I survived Nagini's bite by means of an an antivenin that I'd developed in anticipation that Voldemort would use her as a weapon. Ironically, I ingested it to deem it safe, never intending that I'd be her target. The potion stayed in my system, and put me into a deathlike stasis as her venom entered my bloodstream. That was to continue for up to twelve hours, or until the snake's magic could be countered." He turned to address the Golden Trio, sans Potter (where was he?). "Several hours after the three of you left the Shrieking Shack, I came out of the paralysis I'd fallen into... It seemed that someone had sliced the head off of that god forsaken reptile, thusly ending her magic and reducing the toxicity of her venom quite drastically." At this, he inclined his head towards Longbottom, noticing the slow flush creeping up the younger man's cheeks. Severus allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he nodded his regard to Neville. "I was then able to dose myself with blood replenishing potions until I could regain my feet. I fled the country without hesitation for reasons I don't care to share at this time. Suffice it to say, I've taken the opportunity over the last year to experience life without a master."

"Bloody hell, Severus," Bill Weasley said in astonishment. "We had a funeral for you!"

"Hmmm," Severus replied with a mild smirk. "Touching."

"Rumor has it, you owe me an ear," George said in an uncharacteristically bland tone.

Severus could read no underlying threat behind the claim, but would be sympathetic to any need for revenge the younger man may be entertaining. For now, he nodded his agreement and allowed his regret to surface into his expression as he held George's gaze.

George studied Severus, and the rest of the Order seemed to hold their breaths in the silence. "Can we call you _Severus_ then?"

There was a snort of amusement, probably from Lee Jordan. Severus raised an eyebrow, feeling a significant wave of relief wash through him. "I believe I'd greatly prefer that to _Bloody Arsehole,"_ he drawled.

_"Severus!"_ Molly and Minerva admonished simultaneously, as Ronald and Neville burst into loud, tension easing laughter.

"My apologies, mesdames," he said with a small bow. His eyes darted around the room again, checking to make sure there were no surreptitious glares directed his way. He met Hermione Granger's eyes and found her trying desperately not to laugh as well, and himself pleased to see the sight. He then turned his regard back to George, who was still watching him. "I have carried the deepest regrets over the injury I caused you, Mr. Weasley. It was not intentional. I am at your disposal if you know of a way for me to make amends. Any time."

George smiled, but it was a sad, empty smile. "I'll take you up on that, Severus. Probably along the line of advice on some potions Ronnie and I have been concocting."

Severus gave the youngest Weasley male his most classic sneer of disbelief, but the light sarcasm in his tone softened the effect as he replied, "Good grief. Allow me a chance to practice my defensive shields first, will you?"

Ronald Weasley simply rolled his eyes and leaned back casually in his seat with his arms folded across his chest.

Minerva stepped forward and placed a hand on Severus' arm. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Severus will need time to acclimate to our post-Voldemort world. He left with only the knowledge that Voldemort had fallen. I've filled in some of the details of the final battle, but there is much more to be shared." Severus watched the play of grief on Minerva's features with a sense of dread. "And, there are many misunderstandings and deceptions to be addressed," she added, unable to keep that grief out of her voice.

"You missed the first memorial," Granger pointed out.

Severus nodded solemnly. "And I'm yet to fully comprehend the losses suffered. But I will attend the upcoming memorial." He looked her over, contemplating. "Is this not where Potter is residing currently?"

"Yes, sir," she told him. "He's running late tonight, but should be here shortly."

Minerva stepped closer to Severus and slipped her arm around his waist, tugging him against her side as she smiled up into his face. "You will come see me tomorrow, then?" That was the second time she'd hugged him in twenty-four hours. The war, it seemed, had affected them all rather significantly.

"Of course." He surprised Minerva by returning her one-armed embrace. He was feeling a deep sense of relief at her happiness to have him back, and the gesture came easily.

"Then let's adjourn for the evening. We'll reconvene in a few days, once Severus has had the time to reclaim his place amongst us."

The Order of the Phoenix filed out, each taking the time to shake Severus' hand or clap him on the shoulder. Severus knew they were responding to him much differently than they would have a year ago, and that it was a reflection of his own recovery. The dumbstruck reaction to his congeniality was palpable throughout the room. He took special care to acknowledge Neville Longbottom, Ginevra Weasley and Luna Lovegood, feeling he owed it to them. Longbottom gripped his hand in a confident shake and welcomed him back. The youngest Weasley had a smirk on her face that told him she could see right through him, in a good way. He simply raised an eyebrow and bowed over her hand. Luna smiled as she shook his hand, and he couldn't stop a smile in response. Something about that girl made him want to laugh. Some of the more senior members waited to leave last so that they could exchange a few words. Molly hugged him, of course, and he whispered his condolences for Fred in her ear as he returned the embrace. Arthur took his hand and held it for a long moment but seemed unable to speak, so he clapped his other hand on Severus' arm, squeezed hard and left with his wife.

When it was finally down to Potter's best friends, Hermione Granger also gave his arm a warm squeeze. "I think I'd better give Harry a warning that he's in for a shock," she said softly, waiting for him to agree.

"As you wish, Miss Granger," Severus replied, tilting his head and allowing the corners of his mouth to tilt ever so slightly upward. He enjoyed the way her chest heaved as she caught her breath in shock. She held his gaze for a moment and her sweet smile broadened happily when he squeezed her hand with his own before releasing it.

"I'll just send him a patronus. Will you wait here to see him, or return tomorrow?"

"Perhaps I'd better wait," Severus judged, weighing in the way Ronald Weasley was lingering a few feet away as a sign that this was going to hit Potter hard.

"Just be prepared, Professor-"

"Severus, Weasley, I'm no longer your teacher."

A small vestige of the boy that Ronald Weasley used to be rose to the surface as he hesitated for a long moment before giving his head a quick shake and trying again. "Uh, right, er, Severus, sir. Harry, uh, he's had a pretty rough time of it. Blames himself."

"Of course he does," Severus said with a touch of his old snide tone.

Both Ronald and Hermione took a step towards him, mouths opened simultaneously to set him straight, neither immediately registering the wide, satisfied smirk that had spread across his face because they had risen to his bait. Severus held his ground, watching as if in slow motion as they advanced. But the scene changed instantly as the door to the kitchen swung open and Harry Potter swept in.

"Harry!" Granger's voice hit that infamous shrill note that only she could achieve just as Ronald and Severus registered his arrival.

Potter stopped in his tracks, mere feet away from his former potions professor. His flushed face paled instantly. They all heard his reflexive gulp as he blinked his wide green eyes in shock.

Severus took in the sight of Lily's eighteen year old son, and a lump formed in his throat. Harry Potter no longer wore glasses, he immediately noted, and now looked so much more like his mother. He was slender and fine featured, still overtly boyish; still not finished growing; still looking vulnerable and full of anguish. The difference between his physical appearance and that of all of his friends was shocking.

Hermione and Ronald exchanged looks and quickly exited the kitchen while the two former adversaries stood very still, eyes locked. Severus waited to let Potter make the first attempt to communicate, but his former student just continued to gape at him with suspiciously wet eyes. Severus suddenly flashed on a series of regrettable memories, times when he had been ruthless with this boy, times when he had refused to show compassion or acknowledge the boy's goodness. He remembered accusing Potter of stealing the missing Polyjuice ingredients from his stores during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He'd never apologized for that time, and he'd always regretted it. He'd also regretted not going to him after Voldemort had returned in the graveyard. He'd stood in the doorway of the hospital ward, watching Molly Weasley try to comfort the distraught 14 year old, and had had a very strong urge to go to back later that night and check on him. But he had not.

Perhaps if he had, it would not be so difficult to face him now.

"Minerva warned me, but… you look like you've been caught in a time-warp, Potter," he finally said.

Potter's eyes filled as he stared back, his jaw working as he tried to clench away the rising surge of tumultuous conflict. "I..." he huffed back a sob, and gulped hard. "_I walked away from you_ and left you for dead. I didn't even question it!" He gripped his stomach and turned away, heaving in deep breaths.

"Enough of that, Potter," Severus said sharply. "Is it not possible to consider that I did not _want_ to be saved? Must everything always be up to you to resolve?"

Potter had turned back, pained eyes glued to his while he pressed his lips together, trying to control his emotions.

Severus stepped closer to him. "I believed myself to be dying as well, not yet knowing I'd actually taken strong enough preventative measures to save my own life. I awoke to a return of strength and realized _he_ was gone and _I _was free. I thought of no one but myself and left as quickly as I could, never expecting to return." And since the boy was still gripping his stomach, he asked, "Are you having issues with your stomach?"

"I'm working on it," Potter said curtly. He had no desire to have yet another authority figure admonishing him for his health.

"Uhmm, yes, I can see that," Severus said softly, but his sarcasm bit as sharply as it always had.

"Where did you go? Did you leave the country?"

Severus inclined his head. "Impressive guess." Severus gently clasped Harry's chin. "It was not up to you to save me. I was not part of the cross you've had to bear, alright?" He was pleased when the boy nodded, but the same pained expression was still haunting his miserable face. He assessed the young wizard, still holding his chin, knowing that he was defensively shielding his mind. But Severus wasn't here to torment his former student. He'd been uncertain of what he would find when he reacquainted himself with the Boy Wonder, but it hadn't been this small, overwrought whisper of the past, packaged in a flashback of his younger body. "Your magic is quite strong in spite of your condition. I could tell by the wards here. I was surprised to find that I was granted entrance."

Harry pulled Severus' hand from it's grip on his face and stepped backward. His stomach was roiling with conflicting emotions. He simply was not prepared to handle this development. "You could have told me you were okay," he rasped and then scrubbed furiously at his eyes. "I've kept far worse secrets in my life."

"I don't know that I could have," Severus disagreed softly. He hadn't expected to feel this much guilt during their reunion. "There is much to say, Potter," he spoke softly and genuinely. "I trust that after witnessing my memories, you can understand that I was full of suffering and self-loathing right up to the bitter end. I had nothing left of myself, except the will to leave this life behind and start anew. I was surprised to feel homesick and instinctively knew I would not ever feel settled if I didn't at least speak to Minerva, and to you, although I was not certain who had perished and who had survived."

Harry Potter looked up into his former professor's eyes. "You don't owe me anything, sir. I only meant earlier that I just wish I'd known you hadn't died. I understand why you'd want to get away from here. I'm glad you're alright, Professor."

_That_ left Severus unfooted. "Generous of you, Potter," he said softly. "I made you miserable on countless occasions throughout your school years. I'm surprised you can stomach the sight of me."

"You deserve to be happy. You've done enough," Potter said in a very strained voice.

"And you have not?"

Potter blinked. He seemed to have no words, so he shrugged and dropped his gaze away from Severus'.

It was a relief that Potter was not openly hostile to him. "You should call me Severus from now on. The mean and prickly potions master of yore no longer exists... _I hope."_

"But if anyone could bring that part of you back to the surface, it would be me?"

"Your words, Potter."

"I was wondering why you hadn't tried to force a potion on me for my stomach," Harry muttered.

"Indeed, as I regularly walk around with an apothecary in my pocket," Severus snarked. "Don't think I won't in future. I simply haven't brewed the one I have in mind for ages."

"I've already tried all of the common ones in Madam Pomfrey's stores over the years."

_"Years?"_ Severus asked in concern.

But the boy didn't directly respond. "It's not actually my stomach, it's my abdominal muscles cramping. I'm a _clencher,_ apparently."

"Ah," the older wizard acknowledged. "Then I'm now quite confident my potion will work for you. I'll brew it in the coming days. Try to think pleasant thoughts in the meantime, will you?

That earned an amused grin from Potter. "When did you actually return, sir?"

Severus conjured two glasses, filled them with a silent _aguamenti,_ handed one to Harry and took a long drink before answering. "Just last night. I went to the castle first, to see the Headmistress." The boy before him was registering how easily they were speaking with each other, sizing Severus up and down as he listened. "She told me that you had grown close to the Malfoys this past year. That will take some stretching of my imagination to truly take in."

Potter shook his head as if to clear it, but smiled slightly. "I know. When I think about it, it's like the world's gone pear shaped. Maybe it has... I'm actually _friends_ with Draco." He blinked a few times as his thoughts wandered before returning to the present and looking Severus in the eye. "It's been good for me. Lucius especially has tried to help me." Harry huffed a tiny laugh. "Believe me when I say, I've been a trial."

"Oh, I do, Mr. Potter. I've no doubt that you have." Severus was smiling as he said it, enjoying the way the teen was openly gobsmacked at such a sight, but still seeming to trust that he was genuine. "Is that where you were this evening?"

"Yes, sir," Harry answered somewhat distractedly. "It's going to be a shock to them that you're back. They've missed you a lot."

Severus nodded, regret tugging at his heart. "And I them." He banished their empty glasses. "But before I give them a shock, I would like to have a discussion with you. If you are amenable, I'd like to rent a room here, or perhaps two, to live in while I renovate Spinners End. I can't live there again until some major construction has been done."

"That would be great, sir. There's plenty of room here, you can have your pick of which part of the house you'd like for yourself." The boy actually lit up at the idea. "It's funny that you want to renovate. It's becoming a bit of a thing to know how to magically alter interior design. And the exterior too. The Malfoys are probably going to start a professional business now that they've gotten so good at it. I've been learning some painting and furnishing transfiguration charms from Narcissa. I might end up working for them, you never know."

"What happened to being an auror, Potter?" Severus asked.

"Harry."

Severus smirked. "What happened to being an auror, _Harry?"_ Then he deliberately tested the boy by asking, "Have you not prepared for your NEWTS?"

That was indeed the wrong question, because Harry suddenly glared pure rage at Severus. The boy's mouth quivered as he opened it to shout, stopped himself just in time, shook his head and just as quickly had to fight back tears.

"What have I said that upsets you so?" Severus asked carefully. But Harry turned to leave. "Harry?"

"I can't do this right now," the boy rasped brokenly. "You're welcome to stay on here if you wish, sir. As long as you like. But I'm not… _I can't-"_

"Mr. Potter, look at me," Severus commanded.

The distraught teen looked up at him, revealing a very deep anguish in his eyes before turning and rushing from the room.

"Bloody hell," Severus muttered. He sat heavily in one of the chairs, debating his next move. He should not delay his reunion with the Malfoys. They should not hear from another source that he lived on. He checked the time. Half past nine. He should go right now.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight - Failure To Thrive - Snape Returns Part III

Lucius and Narcissa were in the newly renovated conservatory, sitting on the settee together quietly discussing their son's new love interest, a muggleborn witch from the United States. The young couple had only met very recently, but Lucius and Narcissa could see the strong bond that was already formed between Draco and the lovely Naomi Butler. They were just agreeing to accept the relationship without protest as long as Draco agreed to finish his education when a familiar patronus appeared before them.

Silence fell in the room. The silvery doe ducked its head and said in Severus' voice, "I am actually alive. I've returned to make peace with my past, and I'm about to apparate onto your property. Please do not hex me on site."

Lucius jumped to his feet and ran to the front door, flinging it open. "Severus?" he bellowed, his voice breaking as he charged out into the night searching for the familiar form of the man he'd considered his best friend. _"Severus!"_

"I am here," Severus said. He emerged from the shadows, his gait slightly less than confident.

"You bloody bastard!" Lucius rasped. "I could kill you myself for what you've put us through!"

Severus stopped in his tracks and held up his hands in surrender. "I hope you don't Lucius."

Lucius closed the distance between them stopping at arms length from his friend. "A lot of tears have been shed over you, Severus," he remarked shakily. "Some of them my own."

"I regret that."

"Bloody bastard," Lucius muttered. He placed his hands on his hips and waited to see how Severus would respond. Severus stepped closer and wrapped an arm around Lucius neck and yanked him close for a quick, hard hug. A first for them in the course of their friendship. Lucius returned the embrace, only just barely keeping a lid on his emotions. When they pulled apart the awkwardness had evaporated. "Come inside and give Narcissa a kiss hello." Lucius clapped a hand onto Severus' shoulder and led him towards the manor.

"Gods, Lucius, what happened to your haunted mansion?"

Lucius barked a laugh. "You'll see. It's a new era at Malfoy Manor."

"Severus!" Narcissa cried, opening her arms and clinging to him. "You left us heartbroken at losing you. Where have you been?"

"I left for the States as soon as I was coherent enough to cast a glamor over the snake bite," Severus told her. They pulled apart but walked arm in arm, with Lucius on Severus' other side, heading through the long passage to the back of the manor where they would see Draco.

"You look wonderful," she told him. "I hear the American wizards are far more embedded in the muggle world."

She was clearly asking about this clothing and short hair. Severus chuckled. "Yes, Cissy, I am now in the habit of dressing in muggle attire for all but formal events. I hope I don't offend the two of you?"

"Oh please, Harry has repeatedly had Lucius in denims and a leather jacket, telling him he looks _beyond cool."_

Now Severus let out a hearty guffaw. "I should like to hang out with you in muggle London sometime, Luci. Be sure to wear that _cool_ jacket."

Lucius merely smiled mildly, calling out, "Draco! Are you home, son?"

The reunion with Draco was far more reserved than what had happened with Harry. No tears from the stoic blond, but he did give Severus a long hug. Lucius stood by, telling Severus that he and Narcissa greatly admired how easily Draco was embracing the more liberal definition of _equality_ among wizards, adding that of all of them, Draco had seemed to have assimilated the most readily and had resumed old friendships and smoothed out some of the rough edges with old adversaries. Draco had muttered something about having tossed aside everything he'd been taught and setting out to define things for himself. Severus had muttered back that this had been a very good call on his part, squeezing his godson one last time before they stepped apart.

Draco was headed out for a late night rendezvous with his new girlfriend, but was only too happy to set a plan to see Severus midweek.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"So you've been keeping an eye on Potter, I hear," Severus remarked. He took a sip of the Ogden's Finest 18 year old whiskey Lucius had poured him after they'd toured the renovated rooms in the manor, settling back in the comfortable armchair in their airy new conservatory.

"We have," Lucius agreed, sitting close to his wife on the settee. "I felt I owed him as much, after he had been held prisoner here while Miss Granger was tortured. That's when I learned first hand how honorable he is as a wizard. He, as usual, had somehow managed get the upper hand and escape our dungeon. I was wandless - we all were at one point, except Bellatrix. He could have taken that opportunity to avenge the many, many cruel transgressions I have committed against him, but he left us unscathed..." He brought his hand up to rub the stubble of beard along his jaw. "And now he comes every Sunday for dinner, and brings a wholly different kind of life into our home. We've grown very fond of him. I'd like to think we've helped him along." He cast a look at his friend. "Have you seen him yet?"

"I have," Severus told them. "I didn't really know what to expect. Things had only ever been downright ugly between us, but there was a shift in that final moment when we both thought I was dying."

"He's grieved you quite extensively," Lucius said.

Severus sighed, frowning at thoughts he kept to himself.

"He told the public that you'd shared some very personal memories with him," Narcissa said. "He's never spoken of it with us in private."

"I let him see how much I had loved his mother, and my memories of discussions with Albus when he told me that Harry would have to die in order for Voldemort to be destroyed," Severus said. He was having difficulty keeping his voice steady. "I lost consciousness not knowing if he'd truly be able to sacrifice himself."

"He did just that," Lucius confirmed. "I had no idea what was behind his actions at the time, but he came into the forest where we were being kept in waiting. And…_ he faced the Dark Lord…_ Clearly, he was afraid, but he never wavered. We stood there cowering, while that boy took a killing curse, yet again-" Lucius broke off, derailed by the horrid turmoil and guilt at that memory. He brought both hands up to his face and rubbed at the emotion that threatened to escape in the form of tears. _"I've never felt so impotent."_

"Harry went down, and Voldemort laughed, never doubting that he'd killed him," Narcissa picked up for her husband, taking one of his hands in hers. "He told me to check to be certain, but paid me no attention as I went to Harry. Harry was breathing, and conscious, and all I could think about was Draco. I asked if Draco was still alive, and he confirmed that he was, so I told the Dark Lord that Harry was dead, having sudden hope that we could possibly change the outcome."

"My wife facilitated Harry's escape," Lucius continued. "We all returned in time to see Longbottom kill Nagini and Harry spring to action. All the while, we were helpless to contribute. Finding Draco alive was all that mattered. Those in the battle left us be. And then it was over, and the Malfoys abandoned the scene."

"Draco and I left altogether, but Lucius stayed back to see if he could aid Harry in any way," Narcissa added.

"Harry was not at all interested in my groveling, so I left as well. When I next saw him in town, he was more willing to speak with me. By then we'd decided as a family that we would denounce our former ways - completely - and atone by any means we could. I relayed as much to Harry and told him to call on me if he needed anything."

"According to him, he's been a trial," Severus told them.

"Not true," Lucius said. "We have butted heads twice in ten months, and he conceded to my authority on both occasions."

"But we are having trouble with him when we discuss his education," Narcissa supplied. "Lucius has deflected confrontation several times, but there is something unsettling about the way he shuts us out when the subject comes up."

"I cannot fathom the basis for his stubborn refusal to return to school in the autumn," Lucius confessed. "I'm tempted to use a firm hand to persuade him to reconsider…"

"I'm surprised you haven't done so yet," Severus said. "You would have with Draco."

"I haven't thought it wise with Harry," Lucius confessed.

"He reacted quite strongly to my inquiry about where he stood with his NEWTS," Severus admitted. "And I believe I know why. You should know that I had a visit with his aunt-"

"The lovely Petunia?" Lucius interjected with derision. They all remembered the horse-faced shrew that was Lily's sister.

"Yes," Severus smirked sardonically. "I dropped in on her earlier today. She's returned to Privet Drive with her husband, but not the son. He's apparently on his own now. I asked if she had spent any time with Harry recently and she could barely contain her disdain at the thought of him. I Legilimized her and saw for myself that she had never loved that boy, neither had her husband or son. Harry was their unwelcome burden and a source of shame. They cared nothing of his traumas while at school, and never praised his achievements. Worst of all, I saw a memory of her husband thrashing him with a belt for getting higher grades than his cousin in primary school. Here I'd thought I'd failed entirely at teaching him to Occlude, but he'd managed to hide the worst of their abuse from me. I dearly wish that I had known even_ this_ while I taught him. I'm afraid his resistance to finishing school has as much to do with my constant ridicule and refusal to acknowledge his successes as his aunt's and uncle's cruelty."

"Harry has shared very little about his relatives. We did run into his cousin in London last summer. The boy was civil to Harry, and they had a brief conversation. But Harry was full of doom afterward. He's skirted that subject with me as well." Lucius revealed. He thought carefully before making his next plea. "Severus, do you intend to interact with him further?" At Severus' raised eyebrow, Lucius sighed. "He's very vulnerable; his emotions right below the surface. He does not respond well to outright commands, and he will shut you out to protect himself, and that would be damaging at this point. I think he would do very well with your support."

"You worry I would still be cruel to him?" Severus didn't like to think that he would still be capable of mistreating Harry.

"I'm worried that he'll fear you will," Lucius said.

"I will take care with him, Lucius," Severus assured his friend. "I've no clear idea as to how I can make amends with him, but I've every intention to."

"Perhaps you could let Harry seek _you_ out first, Severus," Narcissa suggested softly. "I won't pretend to not feel a slight fear that he'll lose interest in us now that you've returned. If you give him some space for a short while, he'll likely come to talk things out with Lucius and I. And I think the opportunity for us to encourage him to work through his confusion over your return would go a long way towards securing our bond with him."

"Cissy," Severus said gently, "I saw for myself the respect and affection the boy clearly has for the both of you in the brief conversation I had with him. You will not lose him."

"Things have been tense, as we've said," Lucius explained. "We are nearing a confrontation with Harry over his education. The subject is causing a great deal of strain, and we both are fearful of pushing him away by insisting that he finish his Hogwarts studies. Now that I have the insight you just shared about his early grades I can see I need to take a different approach. But as an informal guardian, I cannot in good conscience let him quit his schooling."

Severus contemplated his old friend with a combination of admiration and shock at how deeply invested the senior Malfoy was in Harry Potter's well being. "Perhaps you are worrying too much. There are still several months before his seventh year would begin. We can focus on his health for now. And I can focus on atoning for some of my past wrongs with him," Severus suggested. "And in the course of these, we can find a subtle way to address the abuse he suffered for his grades and study habits, and perhaps find a way to convince him that he should take the opportunity to experience academic success."

Lucius and Narcissa glanced at each other before giving Severus their full attention. Narcissa smiled a sweet, genuine smile. "I've missed you, Severus. I'm so glad you're with us again. And I believe you are right about Harry. He needs a lot of guidance, and an opportunity to define his own state of normalcy."

"Agreed."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus returned to Number 12 Grimmauld Place at midnight. He felt unsettled at the thought of Harry stewing on their exchange this evening without another opportunity to speak with him. Alas, the wards still allowed him entrance. He stepped into the front hall, noticing a lamp on in the parlor. Harry sat there, staring silently into the flames in the fireplace. Severus moved closer to the door and knocked softly. The small teen turned exhausted eyes toward him and gave him a slight smile of acknowledgement.

Severus stepped further into the room. "I don't want to intrude, Potter-"

"Don't call me that. Please." Harry said, then added uncertainly, "Sir."

"My apologies, Harry," Severus said agreeably. "I won't stay." Harry jumped to his feet as Severus continued, "I just wanted to be certain you are alright?"

"Sir," Harry said quickly. "You are welcome to stay here, as long as you want. Really, there's plenty of room." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so damned rude before! I'm just really messed up, and I've tried, but I'm not getting better. I know I need help, but -" His voice broke on the last words and tears leaked out of his eyes, but he kept his face averted so that Severus couldn't see his distress.

"From what I understand, you have made progress, Harry. And I will help you as much as I can, and perhaps that will make a difference moving forward. It will take time to get you through your recovery, but we have time, do we not? Remember? We're _free_ now." He saw the boy's hesitant nod and decided to throw caution to the wind: "Albus suggested once that it is quite likely that the depth of my animosity toward you in the past was entirely due to the fact that you were the child of my only love, to whom I'd always expected to be married, and with whom we should have conceived a son who had dark hair and her beautiful eyes."

Harry's reaction was visceral and his entire body quaked as he began to cry harsh sobs of angst that rapidly turned into all out bawling. Severus knew without asking that the boy wept as much for his mean old potions professor as for himself. He pulled the scrawny teen into his arms, squeezing him tight, kissing the top of his head, and then resting his chin on the spot he'd just kissed. He held Harry, calmed his own desire to weep, and let the boy cry for quite some time, imagining that this was a long overdue release.

It wasn't until Harry had quieted that Severus cleared his throat and said, "I understand that there are topics of discussion that are off limits with you. And I will do my best to respect that, alright?"

"Yeah," Harry whispered.

"But I won't always know when I've crossed a line, so you will have to let me know. And hopefully, in the future you will trust that I'm interested in _helping,_ not controlling you. Who knows, perhaps we'll even grow close, as you have to the Malfoys."

"Then the world will surely have gone pear-shaped," Harry declared, but the sarcasm lost it's effect when said with a teary voice.

Severus acknowledged him with another squeeze. "You need to get some proper rest," he said gently. "Could you sleep now?"

"Will you stay?"

"I will, for as long as we are comfortable under the same roof. It would actually work out well for me to stay. I spent some of my time at the manor planning a complete remodel of Spinner's End with Lucius. Demolition will begin later this week."

Harry wiped his eyes and stepped back.

Severus took a stern tone, "You will sleep in tomorrow morning."

Harry nodded and ducked his head to hide a reluctantly amused smile at the fatherly tone from his former professor. "Do you want to use the room you used when you stayed here before?" he asked.

Now it was Severus' turn to be uncomfortable. "No, if it's just the same to you, I'd prefer a different room."

Harry nodded quickly. "Erm, how about on the fourth floor? There's a large suite on the far end that's been updated with all new furniture and paint." He watched Severus consider, adding, "They're nice. Narcissa helped me perfect the painting charm on them."

"It sounds fine," Severus agreed. He gestured for Harry to precede him up the stairs and lead the way. At the door to the room, he conjured his bag from the spot he'd left it at Spinners End that evening. "You'll have a lie in tomorrow, correct?" He asked, as if remembering that Harry was actually an adult.

"Yes sir," Harry said. "Will you as well? We could have a late breakfast together, if you like. Kreacher will be thrilled to cook for someone who doesn't have to be blackmailed to eat."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Ten o'clock?"

"Yeah. I mean, yes sir. Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Harry." He watched the boy walk back to the stairwell, before turning and entering the room that had indeed been completely refurbished, looking distinctly muggle. There was even a television. As he began to unpack his belongings, he wondered if Harry had been trying to impress him. He hoped not.

Severus reflected on the scene in the parlor and earlier in the kitchen before he'd gone to Malfoy Manor. Considering all that Harry had gone through, the fact that he had not turned hostile and bitter, as Severus had as a youth, said so much about his best friend's son. Helping Harry now would be a start at atoning for his past cruelties. And it would go a long way in helping Severus himself maintain the happier existence he hoped he'd brought back with him.

In the meantime, Severus also had a lot of healing to do. The positive reception he'd received tonight from his old friends and the Order members had been encouraging. He also had a lot of curiosity to satisfy about the events and happenings during the year preceding the final battle, both from Harry's perspective and from Miss Granger's.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

When Severus left his bedroom the following morning, he was greeted by the aroma of frying bacon and eggs, and blessings to the chef, coffee. He made his way down the five flights of stairs and into the narrow kitchen. The former curmudgeonly Kreacher welcomed him without interrupting his cooking efforts.

"Kreacher is pleased to see that Master Severus has returned. Kreacher is cooking a selection of Master Harry's favorites for breakfast. Master Harry has promised to eat a large meal this morning."

Severus raised an eyebrow at Harry, who had entered in the middle of Kreacher's announcement. Harry shrugged and gave him a lopsided smile, while gesturing for Severus to be seated at the table.

"It's strange to see you dressed so casually, sir," Harry noted conversationally. They both wore jeans and jumpers. "You look healthy, and more fit. Maybe I'll take a page from your book at some point..."

Severus smirked. "And it's strange to see you, young man, in clothing that actually fits you. Who, may I ask, is responsible for that?"

Harry blushed. "I didn't always get to buy myself extra things for the new school year, you know. I had to stick with Dudley's hand me downs in fourth and fifth years," he said, trying and failing to keep the defensive tone from his voice.

"I didn't realize you had to buy your own casual wear, Harry," Severus said softly.

"I know," Harry said in a strained voice. "No one really realized it, save for Mrs. Weasley. But she couldn't always get my things for me."

Severus studied Harry silently for a few minutes as he yet again replayed memories of their bitter past.

Harry grew uncomfortable and misread the older man's train of thought. He didn't care what people knew about his upbringing any longer, so why was he so guarded about it? "I needed a lot of help, and I didn't get it most of the time," he said in a matter of fact tone.

Severus' mouth tightened. "Will you talk about that with me?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry said, "but I was really wanting to hear about what you went through after we left you in the Shrieking Shack. Will you tell me about that? Like, who burned the place down? I can tell you about the Dursleys any old time."

"Kreacher is serving both Masters their breakfasts. It is time to eat." Kreacher said sternly, as if he doubted Harry's promise.

"Yes, Kreacher," Harry grinned at the little elf.

Severus watched the way the elf's face softened with affection for Harry as he nodded his approval at them both. "Is there anyone that doesn't adore you?" he teased.

"I think there are a lot of people who have been less than pleased with me over the past year," Harry admitted. "I refused to let anyone fawn over me, and in doing so pushed a lot of my friends away."

"Like whom?" Severus asked, cutting into his eggs with his fork and taking a bite.

Harry took a bite of bacon as he contemplated his answer. "Like the Weasleys, especially Ginny. She let the Harpies recruit her for their second string Seeker. She only comes around once in a while now. I missed seeing her last night. But that's complicated because she was supposed to be my girlfriend, except that she'd not a _pedophile."_ He gestured at his body as if to illustrate his point. "That's an incredibly involved story, so I'll move on. I've made it hard for a lot of my friends to know me, including Neville, and Luna, although Luna never gets cross with anyone. Definitely Dean and Seamus. Hagrid..." he trailed off.

"What about your Golden Trio counterparts?" Severus asked.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Severus. "You were the one that coined that phrase, you know. No one called us that until you started to." He was unimpressed by Severus' responding smirk, but he thought carefully about his answer. "Things were really hard on us while we were on the run. We had a lot of really tough times, and it took a toll in a lot of ways. But we will always be the best of friends. Ron and Hermione know I'm struggling with things they can't help me with. Ron is having to balance his grief over Fred with his concern for George and Percy, and his parents. Hermione had hell to pay for blocking her parents' memories and sending them away to Australia. They came around, but decided to stay there, so she's on her own without family if she wants to live in London. But of the three of us, I think she's doing the best."

"Where is she residing these days?" Severus asked. "I would have expected to find her living here. Ronald as well."

"Well, she lived with the Weasleys for the first several weeks after the Final Battle. Then she and Ron tried to live together. That lasted about three months, before they realized they were better as friends. Ron is just too used to having tons of family around, and Hermione prefers to have her own space." Harry took another bite, chewing slowly and swallowing before continuing, "she's got a small flat in London right now. She knows she can move in here any time, and we both know we could live together again. But I think she really wants to define Hermione Granger as an individual outside of the Golden Trio."

Severus studied Harry again, eventually allowing a small smile to grace his lips. "You're not as young as you look, are you?"

Harry laughed. "Was that what they call a _backhanded compliment?"_ he asked.

"It was me making a mental note to myself not to underestimate your wisdom and sensitivity," Severus replied. He watched Harry duck his head to hide the blush creeping up his neck. A phrase that had become his mantra while he was away, learning to be open to happiness, surfaced now as he watched the teen work at eating his breakfast. _A positive, plus a positive, equals a positive. _It certainly did with this boy.

"I will make my way over to the Ministry and see Kingsley Shacklebolt," Severus told Harry as they finished eating.

"You can collect your Order of Merlin, First Class," Harry said excitedly.

"I'll be happy not to be taken into custody," Severus murmured.

"No way," Harry declared. "Kingsley is the only one I showed your memories to, and I pulled out the bad one with my dad. I did it so that there would be no doubt of where you stood. I'm sure he knows that you're back by now, anyway. If you were headed to Azkaban, you'd have already been sought out. He has access to this house." Harry watched him for a moment. "Are you angry that I showed him your private memories?"

"No. You did just fine. I'm sorry I left you with that burden, Harry."

"S'alright, sir. I wanted to do it. I felt a lot better after it was all set."

Severus nodded. "If there's time, I'll see you over at Hogwarts. I want to brew you my best stomach remedy."

Harry slowly wiped his mouth on his napkin and spoke in a low voice. "Sir, I do want you to help me, but..."

Severus gave him his full attention, waiting for Harry to finish.

"I won't pretend not to feel a lot of dread for what could easily go wrong. It's just that… I don't think there'd be much hope for me truly getting my life on track without help… and I know how brilliant you are, so I just hope I don't bungle it all to hell."

Severus responded with an ironic smile. "Harry, it's a two-way street. We'll both have to guard against _bungling it all to hell."_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine - Failure To Thrive - Dueling Lessons

Number 12 Grimauld Place had a rather large backyard that was deceptively obscured from street view at the front of the house. Severus went out to have a look around as soon as he'd returned from the day at Hogwarts. He'd had a brief discussion with Harry over lunch, asking about his recreational habits. Harry had admitted that he'd been getting lots of physical exercise performing all of the labor at the school, but had not engaged in magical recreation since before he'd left his sixth year.

"We will begin dueling this evening before dinner, then." Severus had said. Harry's eyebrows had shot up at this, but Severus hadn't elaborated. Now as he assessed the depth of space in the yard, the few fruit trees and a series of decorative stone pillars placed around to create a modified courtyard, he concluded that they could accomplish a lot back here.

He heard the backdoor slam and turned to find Harry seating himself on the top step of the small back landing with a frosty bottle of butterbeer. He had a second bottle which he held up on offer to Severus as he sipped at his own drink. Severus declined, so Harry shrugged and made a small wave with his hand over the bottle, causing it to disappear. Severus found himself shocked at the sight of Potter performing magic way beyond what would be appropriate for a young adult. Most wizards didn't master wandless spells until well into their twenties, even their thirties. Feeling an impressed smirk settling itself on his face, he strolled towards the distracted teen, who was tilting his head back as he guzzled his drink.

"How much other wandless magic can you do, Harry?"

Harry blinked. His ex-professor was suddenly standing in front of him with arms crossed and eyebrows raised. It had been a long time since he'd really put any thought into the level of magical skill he'd mastered to date, and he was not certain how to answer such a question. A lot of what Harry could do magically was unconscious. It had been for quite some time. Trying to quantify it had certainly mattered when he had a Dark Lord to fell, or an angry Umbridge to dodge, but there had been no reason to care much about increasing his spell mastery of late, other than construction charms and wards for the house. "Er, some," he finally answered. "Mostly nonsense like banishing butterbeers back to the cold box and dirty socks to the hamper."

Severus nodded in approval. "I'm impressed."

Harry felt a nervous bubble of happiness settle into his chest and covered by taking another gulp of his drink.

Severus jerked his head back toward the yard behind him. "Come," he ordered. "Show me what else you can do."

Now Harry was completely unsettled. He'd seen Severus Snape in action with his wand. The wizard was a brilliant duelist and quite powerful. He'd had a few conversations with the senior Malfoy over the past year in which the blond man had readily admitted that his old friend was an even more powerful wizard than Lucius himself, and to Harry, that was quite a level of power to exceed.

"Come, Harry," Severus repeated. He had backed several paces away from the teen and was now standing casually, wand elegantly twirling between his deft fingers.

Harry gulped. "Oh boy," he muttered, but stood up and crossed the yard and faced Severus with his own wand in hand.

"So… what can you do, young man?" Severus asked lightly. "Can you block-" a quick flick of his wand and Harry felt a smacking sensation on his bum, as if he'd been swatted "-a nonverbal hex?"

"Hey!" Harry protested. He glared at his former professor and read the next hex easily, throwing up a nonverbal reflective shield that would have caused Severus to be the one getting smacked if he'd not reflected it as well. They sent it back and forth that way, back and forth, back and forth, until Harry couldn't help but find it funny and he began to giggle helplessly. After numerous rounds, somehow he had the sense to throw up a charm he'd coined the "open void" to suck the menacing smacking hex away before he ended up getting the worst of it again.

Severus raised his eyebrows in surprise and curiosity. "And what was _that,_ Mr. Potter?"

"What was what?" Harry asked innocently as he sent a silent tickling hex at Severus' ribs and succeeded in getting past Severus' shield.

"I'm not ticklish," Severus informed him dryly when Harry hooted his triumph. He sent another smacking hex at Harry which made it to the laughing teen and caught him by surprise. They both heard the sharp crack against Harry's left buttock and Severus raised his eyebrows in mock alarm.

"OW!" Harry bellowed. "Not cool!" He began to send a nonverbal stream of tripping, hopping, sneezing and burp-inducing hexes towards Severus, grinning as the man had no choice but to deflect, deflect, deflect. Harry was sweating before long and thoroughly enjoying the rough-housing style of their first duel. They carried on for nearly an hour. Severus made a point of showing Harry a new shield via defensive demonstration. Harry had devised a hex that created a localized sandstorm, reminiscent of the curses that Dumbledore had exchanged with Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. Severus' shield was actually inverted into more of a bowl shape that had controlled the deflection of the storm and sent it right back at Harry, who was now shaking sand from his hair, as Severus jogged over to him.

"Alright, Harry?"

"Yeah, just a little gritty, is all," Harry said loudly, in exaggerated exasperation while Severus watched him struggle in amusement. "A little help?"

"Get your hands off your head, idiot boy," Severus chided. He cast a scourgify on Harry's hair and then over his clothes to de-dust him so he wouldn't track the storm detritus into the house as they made their way inside to grab showers before their evening meal. "That was _a lot_ of fun, sir," Harry enthused. "I've never played with magic like that before."

Severus didn't bother to hide his surprise at that as he held the back door open for Harry. "Not even with the Weasleys?"

"I guess there was never time," Harry told him. "First, we were under age, and then we were on the run. And besides, there's always been quidditch. I can't wait to try it with Ron."

OooOooOooOooO

At the table, Harry found that he had a much larger appetite than he'd had in probably a couple of years. He commented as much to Severus, who considered the news for a while.

"I am extremely pleased to hear that," Severus finally said. "We've just unveiled an appealing way to help you get healthy. I am actually surprised that Lucius has not had you dueling with him all of this time. With him, it is strategic, rather than playful. He can be ruthless, but he will bring out the best in you, and that is a satisfying experience."

"I suppose it was he who taught you the smacking hex? Probably made that one up himself." Harry snarked good-humoredly.

"Indeed," Severus confirmed. "You would do just fine against him, especially with that banishing charm, which I would recommend keeping handy as a secret weapon. He will be quite impressed. As am I." He curved his mouth into a half smile, wanting Harry to understand he was being highly praised. But the boy had suddenly retreated behind a mask that was oddly reminiscent of his school days. Severus now knew it was a defense mechanism, not the blatant show of indifference he'd always believed Harry had felt towards him. "What is that charm called, Harry?"

"I call it the _open void."_

"Did you invent it?"

"I think so," Harry said. "When we were in the forest of Dean, we had a lot of time to just _think_ about what was happening out there, and it was really hard not to completely lose it. I would try to imagine the kinds of hexes I'd need to be prepared to fend off and think of ways to fight back. Hermione tells me I was visualizing, and that it had been a very powerful exercise for me because I was able to react really well when…" He looked up at Severus for a brief moment, then back down at his plate. "No one taught it to me, but I had pretended in my mind that I could do it so many times that it kind of happened on instinct during a …deadly moment when we were running from the snatchers that eventually caught us and took us to Malfoy Manor." He scratched his nail at a groove in the wood grain of the table surface. "I used it again in the battle at Hogwarts. It's pretty handy when you've got no time to waste fending off three death eaters at once because there's a horcrux to be destroyed."

There was so much to be addressed in the story that Severus truly didn't know where to start.

"Harry, look at me." When the boy raised dull eyes to meet his, he said, "I'm at an utter loss at this moment… I wish I had been there to help you." Harry gulped and his complexion began to pale. "It was a time of pure horror. And nothing about it can be changed, can it?" The boy continued to wait with that same dulled guard over his vulnerabilities. "But this is an incredibly positive thing to take away from that time. Do you realize this?"

Harry's mouth quivered and he simply shook his head, his hands had stilled on the table and he dropped them to his lap, but continued to look at Severus, waiting.

"It means, that you are extremely talented and powerful in your own right. And _extremely_ clever," Again, he watched to see if the nervous teenager before him was really taking in what he was saying. "Harry, you taught yourself defensive fighting without ever physically practicing your methods. You invented an incredibly useful and potentially life saving defensive charm." And Severus finally let his own emotion show, his eyes clouding over and filling. "I wish Albus was here to see this. I really do._This_ is something you can build on. A talent that should be harnessed and utilized in many facets of your life." His voice was gruff with pride now. "You need to know that about yourself, Harry. What you did, in the middle of the fight for your life, was nothing short of amazing. Truly, _truly_ amazing."

"Oh," Harry said softly.

"Indeed." Severus confirmed. "Own it, young man. You have raw talent and incredible instincts." He tilted his head and added, "And it's important to value that in yourself."

"It's strange to hear that kind of thing coming from you," Harry said shakily, and the tension in his voice made it clear that the past was haunting him.

"You'll get used to it," Severus said simply.

OooOooOooOooO

Lucius wondered idly how Harry and Severus were getting on. Severus had returned on Sunday, and it was now late morning Friday, and he had heard nothing from Harry all week. This of course was not unusual, but under the circumstances, he realized he was worried. A small gray owl flew in through his study window right then and stuck its leg out with a letter from young Mr. Potter, inducing a smile on the blond man's face.

_Good morning, Lucius,_

_I was hoping you'd have time to meet me in Hogsmeade today for lunch? Noon at the Three Broomsticks?"_

_Harry_

It was an unusual request, so now Lucius was a bit concerned. He sent a quick note back to Harry with the bird and set about finishing up the designs he'd been drawing up for the remodel of Spinners End.

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"Hello, sir," Harry said from behind Lucius as he made his way along the cobbled street to the pub.

He turned to find the boy standing with hands in pockets wearing a sheepish expression of uncertainty. "Hello, Harry," he said without his usual reserve and on instinct stepped up to Harry and gave him a tight hug. Harry clung to him for a moment longer than he would have expected, so Lucius held on as well and set his chin on Harry's head. "Alright, lad?"

Harry pulled back. "Yes, sir," he said. "I'm just glad to see you."

That warmed Lucius' heart more than anything that had transpired between them thus far. "And I you." He inclined his head toward the pub. "Let's get our table, shall we?"

OooOooOooOooO

"Nothing's wrong, exactly," Harry tried to explain when they were seated and had placed their orders. "In fact, it's been a week where… so much has happened, and been said - out loud, and a lot of-" he broke off with a pained expression. "What's wrong with me?"

Lucius smirked kindly, not wanting to let the subject take on a morose note. "Nothing is wrong with you, Harry. It's likely the first time that you can remember having a positive turn of events in ages. I am aware of how conflicted you were about Severus when we thought he'd died. Perhaps you're reacting to his reappearance as something miraculous?"

"Is that what this is? Am I so used to being miserable that I can't handle good things happening?"

"That's likely part of it," he told the boy. "And there's no doubt been a lot of heaviness mixed with the happiness in both your interactions and private thoughts. That's draining on the spirit and the body, even when it's ultimately for the good." He leaned back and made a point of assessing the boy. "You are handling it just fine."

Harry blinked, considering his words. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"I haven't spoken with Severus since Sunday night. He is staying with you, is he not?"

"Yes, sir. Probably until Spinner's End is finished," Harry said. He seemed anxious when he continued, " We've spent a lot of time together and he's kind of falling into a guardian role too, and I'm okay with it. But I don't want to lose what I have with you and Narcissa, or even with Draco-"

"And you shan't, Harry. Not possible."

Harry was visibly relieved to hear that and he relaxed back in his chair as their food was served. They were still looking at each other, as it seemed Harry had more to say. "He's _different._ So, _so_ not the snide potions master of my nightmares. It's as if he's the person he would have been all along if there'd never been a dark lord."

"So you've had no clashes of temper, or cross moments, then?" Lucius asked.

"None," Harry told him. "In fact, we've been talking a lot and even played a bit at dueling." At Lucius inquiring look, he continued. "He says I have raw talent and good instincts. He says I need to know that about myself, something about it being part of the foundation of the adult wizard I'm destined to be."

"Dueling?" Lucius repeated, his eyes assessing Harry. He could tell Severus' praise had meant a lot to Harry. "I know we've discussed Severus previously. If you impressed him, you must have revealed talents that he thinks you should be exploring. I have thought of approaching the subject of dueling with you myself. But I hesitated because I didn't want to put you in a situation where you found yourself unable to trust me because of my past misdeeds."

Harry seemed to consider this. "Severus says that you are a strategist, and that you'd bring out the best in my skills. So far, when I've dueled with him, we have been mostly playing, trying to outwit each other with annoying hexes. He's made me _laugh_ while I responded on instinct in our play. He's got a wicked sense of humor. I'm feeling better physically than I have since I played quidditch. I've never done that before - used my magic for fun. When I've practiced anything, it was either for lessons, or for defense in battle. But I'd like to have a go at a duel with you. Maybe not right away, but soon."

Lucius inclined his head. "And so you shall. If you'd like, Draco and I can demonstrate the way we practice for you one Sunday."

"I'd like that, sir. Thank you," Harry said, but he still seemed nervous.

Lucius picked up his fork. "You're handling yourself very well, Harry. Just keep doing what you are doing. You're on the right track."

Harry seemed to want to contradict him, no doubt lamenting their ongoing disagreement about his education, but he kept his thoughts to himself and Lucius let him. He agreed with Severus that they should help the boy to heal further. If Severus was already helping Harry feel successful in his own right, he'd likely already begun the groundwork toward lowering the obstinate boy's resistance to returning to school.

"Severus is going to join us for dinner tonight and you are quite welcome to come as well," Lucius said as they parted after lunch.

"Thank you, sir, but I've already made plans to spend this evening with Hermione and Ron," Harry told him. "They wanted to have a go at dueling. We're all helping Hagrid at Hogwarts today, so we'll end with him and head back to Grimmauld Place."

"Very well," the older man returned with a hint of disappointment. "I hope you all enjoy yourselves. Perhaps we could set up an event of dueling games, with you and Severus at the manor? Invite anyone you think would want to join in. Oh, and Harry, I don't intend to put you in the middle with this, by any means, but if the subject comes up with your Miss Granger regarding reviewing the texts in the manor's library that could be donated to help restock Hogwarts… She is welcome any time to peruse our collection."

Harry gave him an understanding nod. "I'll do that. If it comes up. And I think the dueling idea would go over well. I'll see what I can set up."

Lucius smiled in approval. They shook hands. "Until Sunday," Lucius said, and watched Harry walk off, back towards Hogwarts.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten - Failure To Thrive - Coffee Talk

"Thank you for meeting with me, Miss Granger," Severus said as he pulled the chair out for Hermione. She sat across from him at the rickety table in the obscure little muggle coffee shop in London that they'd both agreed was an ideal location to meet.

"It's my pleasure, Professor," she said, her eyes alight with interest and a very clear desire to begin her long list of questions for him.

"Severus," he corrected her. "Say it with me: _Sev-er-us._" He smirked at her timid smile.

"Right," she said just a tad shakily. _"Severus._ But then, you must call me Hermione. Please."

He found her smile to be enchanting enough to elicit a genuine smile of his own. "Fine. Hermione."

Now she grinned happily. She took in his features, seemingly assessing him. "You look good, Severus," she said honestly. "You look like a free man. I never would have knowingly thought of you as anything otherwise, but now that you've returned, I can _see_ that you are free. It suits you."

Severus inclined his head, somewhat taken aback at her candor. He didn't deserve it from her, but he had already decided to begin whatever this reacquaintance grew into on a positive foundation. Once he'd done that, he could admit his guilt and remorse for having hurt her feelings when she was his student.

"You appear to have blossomed yourself while I was away, Hermione. You are no longer a child. I do know that you haven't been for quite some time, of course... I saw you, on two occasions while you were hunting horcruxes with Harry and Ronald."

"You did?" she was gaping openly at his admission.

"Phineus Nigelis facilitated a peak into your tent on one occasion through his two portraits, and on the other, you were outside of your tent. It was just before I sent Harry the patronus to lead him to the sword," Severus explained.

Hermione's eyes grew moist and she cast her glance to the side while her memories took her back to that day. "Things, were quite challenging out there in that damned forest."

"I'm under the impression from Minerva that Harry believes he owes his success in defeating Voldemort almost entirely to you," Severus commented, drawing her back to the present.

Hermione blinked back the unshed tears and sighed. "Not true," she said adamantly. "Harry will never give himself the credit he is due. Yes, I had some clever ideas and had prepared for our having to go into hiding to some extent. But I was terrified and at times, would have been paralyzed by my fears if I had not had Harry's determination and bravery to follow. It was the same for Ron, while he was with us."

"When I saw you, you were quite thin, as was Harry," Severus told her. "I've been curious to know whether that had been a reaction to the stress of your situation? Or were you three starving out there?"

The sheer hopelessness of the situation was written all over her face. "We were afraid to go into town for food. We knew there was some sort of trace on us, because someone always turned up whenever we ventured into civilization. I was afraid I was starving to death." A grimace distorted her features for the briefest of moments. "Harry told me then that he'd had lots of experience with going days without eating while living with the Dursleys. He said he knew his limits and he'd watch out for me as well, but that we couldn't take any more risk being seen than absolutely necessary." She glanced into her coffee cup. "Since then, I've been grateful for every bite of food I've eaten." She gave him a weak smile and waited to see what his response would be.

He studied her for a long moment, noting that she was not completely comfortable with him as he'd previously concluded. "Hermione," he said gently, feeling his lips curve slightly upward at how easily he said her name, "you, and Ronald, for all that appearances can be relied upon to reveal, seem to have made significant progress in recovering from your experiences. Is that a fair assessment?"

"I believe so, yes," she replied in a quiet voice. "It's not behind us, by any means, but I know I'm much better off now than even a few months ago. I think Ron is too. I still have lots of nightmares. We all do." She frowned sympathetically at his nod of admission to his own affliction. "I know from Ron that Harry has had them all along. He certainly suffered night terrors while we camped." She paused to reflect before adding. "None of our circle is outwardly acknowledging the Failure to Thrive condition with Harry, but of course we all notice it. And of course he'll have nothing of anyone's interference or advice. I believe he's _needed_ to be stuck in the developmental rut that he's in."

Severus steeple his fingers with his elbows on the table, and stared at its surface. "His condition is of great concern to Minerva, Madam Pomfrey, myself and the Malfoys. For once, it should be reliable adult intervention that gets him the help he requires, rather than from his peers, hmmm?"

Now it was her turn to study Severus, which she did, and without making him feel the need to squirm. A point in her favor, indeed. "You're back to help Harry, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Among several other intentions. I… also would like to make an effort to atone for my... cruel ways as a teacher... wherever possible."

Her expression grew slightly more guarded and her voice deepened when she responded. "Severus, there is not as much call for that as you may imagine. Harry was very discreet with your pensieved memories, but he revealed enough of your sacrifices to bring about a significant amount of forgiveness. Most of us can understand why you treated us the way you did." She paused to ponder her words for a moment. "I think you've done all that you need to do with Neville, for example."

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Bloody Longbottom saved my life - _Longbottom!"_ he said incredulously. "Lucius is going to show me his pensieved memories of those moments in the battle later this evening. He said it was spectacular, and that he will forever more see Neville Longbottom as damned near to god status."

Hermione laughed at that, enjoying the bubble of mirth that lightened her mood again as she admitted, "I think Mr. Malfoy has been the only one who has been able to get through to Harry. And Mrs. Malfoy, to be fair. But it is Lucius who originally made the overture, and who has been very diligent in his foster parenting. I believe it's helped Harry a lot. But I'm still very worried about him. For those first couple of months, I feared he was suicidal. He seems better in that regard. More stable. But he's lost. In so many ways, he's still a little boy." Her eyes had wandered away from Severus as she spoke, but she brought them back to hold his gaze. "He told me, on one of those lonely nights in the tent, that I was the only one who'd ever hugged him until he'd gotten closer to the Weasleys. He never, ever cried when we were in school, except after the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament." She looked up at Severus again, holding his gaze. "But I know he wanted to, many times, after his encounters with you."

Severus swallowed that down along with the lump in his throat, tapping his finger nervously on the table for a moment. "I hope I can undo some of that damage," he said quietly, but had to clear his throat before he could continue. "Lucius is quite invested in helping him, as well."

"I've only witnessed Harry and Lucius together once. Have they told you about the day of Umbridge's hearing?" she asked. When Severus invited her to recap, she did, and ended by describing the love and terror she'd seen in Lucius' eyes when he'd thought Harry had been hurt. "He is wonderful with Harry. Very fatherly. More so even than I ever saw him be with Draco."

"The war has changed a lot of us for the better," Severus commented.

"I have not responded to the Malfoy's overtures," Hermione admitted. "I'm holding a grudge, and I know it's to my own detriment to do so, but for now it's just the way I need things to be." She watched for his response to her words, and when he simply raised an eyebrow, she smiled her delicate little smile and added, "I'll be the first to admit that I was convinced that they were trying to use Harry to regain their social standing, but then I decided that while I personally was not ready to forgive them for their snobbish prejudices, nor the horrors I experienced as a captive under their roof, I would reserve judgement until I had more information." Again, she paused as if weighing whether to say more or not. Severus continued to give his full attention, so she finally added, "Harry seems calmer and I think he sleeps better on Sunday nights. Lucius even accompanied Harry into muggle London to have his eyes fixed by the Lasik procedure. That meant an awful lot to Harry."

"But he's still suffering," Severus concluded. "And he's still a Failure to Thrive."

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "But I believe he would benefit from your guidance."

"I appreciate your confidence in me, undeserved as it may be," Severus said quietly. She opened her mouth to object but let him continue when he gave her a stern look. "I myself have only a vague memory of what life was like before Tom Riddle brought his evil into our world. I am only just discovering that being open and genuinely kind sets the tone for _real_ friendship_._ I imagine for Harry the challenge is to define himself without a prophecy and a scar that links him to Voldemort. For him, there is no longer urgency to protect Wizarding Britain from things that he himself was never protected from."

Hermione nodded. "He no longer has the weight of the world on his shoulders to confine him into a singular role. And now he's floundering, needing a new anchor. I just hope he's finding out that he can be grounded on his own accord by his own positive choices moving forward."

Severus regarded the young woman before him with admiration. "Well said," he complimented.

Hermione did not blush from his praise. She knew what Harry was going through and knew it was because he'd needed parenting during the very worst of their times together, and that he'd had to make due with her bossiness and Ron's stalwart loyalty. "His Failure to Thrive Syndrome is as much about the lack he experienced in childhood as it is about the horrific stresses of the years preceding the Final Battle. And in watching him for the past year, I can see that he's slowly acquiring a new foundation for who he is going to be. Without the help he's gotten from the Malfoys, I'm not sure he'd have made it to this point."

Severus listened grimly, but heard the hope in her words nonetheless. He sipped his coffee thoughtfully.

Hermione sighed. "It's confusing to watch, as his friend. He was so brave and driven, and _grown up_ while we were hunting the horcruxes. When the locket's energy got the better of Ron and he left us, Harry was _my_ anchor." She paused thinking. "He's clearly at his best when he's in danger."

Severus set his cup down abruptly, his face showing his displeasure at her last insight.

"Or at least that's all he truly knows of himself," she added quickly with a nervous giggle. "I've never said as much to _him,_ mind you. Imagine what must be going on in his mind, now that he has nothing that _must be done_ to save humankind? ...His instincts could drive him to find a crisis to resolve."

"I think you mean a crisis to _create,"_ Severus smirked. But it was clear Hermione knew he was mostly teasing. Mostly.

OooOooOooOooO

"It's been good to talk like this," Hermione told Severus as they returned to their little table with second cups of coffee. "No one, other than Professor Dumbledore, really knew what the three of us were going through for most of our last years at school. I knew the level of peril was extreme, and way beyond my own comprehension. I could only do what I always do: research."

"You took the time to prepare yourself," Severus prompted.

Hermione nodded, remembering. "I learned hundreds of practical charms, and they did indeed come in handy."

"Phineus Nigelis' portrait informed me that you carried everything for your journey in a small beaded bag," Severus said. "For most of that year, I only knew that you three were on a quest of sorts, at Dumbledore's behest. But I stayed to watch Harry and Ronald use the sword to destroy the curse in that locket, and only then did I realize what you had taken on. It was difficult to… I had very little hope that you could possibly succeed, or that I could hold onto the school for long enough to endure a battle."

"I never considered giving up, and neither did Harry. Nor Ron. Ron did leave us, but he was under the influence of the horcrux and as soon as he was free of it, he regretted leaving. He spent a lot of time with a lot of others out there, helping to defy the snatchers while he searched for us. When he found us, things seemed to fall into place and we literally fell into situations that both offered clues and created opportunity."

"Like having a ride on a dragon," Severus supplied with a flippant tone.

Hermione laughed softly, her eyes shining with a mixture of mirth and remembered terror. But she sobered instantly, holding Severus' gaze with her intensity. "And there in itself lies the basis of Harry's current difficulties. We spent ten months living on adrenaline, fear, and mortal peril. When it was over, Ron and I could return to our parents for help with reclaiming ourselves. We had each only lost that previous year. There was a home base, a family history waiting for us. Harry had nothing to return to, not even _memories_ of that kind of caring to hold onto. How in the world was he ever supposed to find his way?"

"Indeed," Severus murmured. He stared at her for a long moment. "You mentioned that you cannot forgive the atrocities you experienced at Malfoy Manor." He waited for her nod of acknowledgement. "Harry was there too. Why do you think he was able to move past them?"

"That's just Harry, Severus," Hermione said. "He can see the goodness in people who deserve a second chance. If Lucius had turned out to be simply attempting to use Harry to get back into the good graces of the Wizarding world, Harry would have known it."

They sipped their coffees in silence for a while longer. "Lucius and Narcissa are making every effort to convince Harry to return to Hogwarts in the fall for his seventh year, but he is quite reluctant," Severus said. Hermione nodded. "Will you be returning?" Now it was her turn to give him a raised eyebrow that suggested he'd asked a very silly question. "And Ronald?"

"I don't know about Ron's plans. He's not convinced he could stick it out, and is feeling like he'd be better at helping George with the business. His parents are of course pushing for him to finish his education. I am too. It's a touchy subject."

Severus nodded. "Can you think of any means by which we could make the idea more appealing?"

"I think he could be convinced to return if the curriculum was set up to be more like a university. As in an _open campus_ educational experience. Having a curfew and restrictions on when he could home would be his largest bone of contention."

"That's a very wise suggestion," Severus said. "Would you prefer that sort of arrangement as well?"

"Yes," she responded. "I've been taking a few random courses at a muggle college and it's made me realize that I want to study a broader scope than what's covered on my NEWTS, but having to postpone those additional studies in order to be confined to a boarding school is not sitting well with me, either. I'll do it, but not happily." She looked up from her coffee cup and found Severus smiling at her in a way that made her tummy flipflop.

"I suggest you propose your ideas to Minerva," he said smoothly, not missing the flutter of her lashes in reaction to him.

She sucked in her breath and seemed to reclaim her senses as she breathed, "I will," and set her empty cup down.

Severus sensed that they should conclude their visit, but he was quite reluctant to do so. "I'd like to do this again, Hermione, and on that occasion, I should like to spend more time hearing about your individual experience."

"And I yours," she said firmly.

They both stood and Severus took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Soon, then."

Her smile was warm and captivating. "Soon," she agreed.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven - Failure To Thrive - Showdown With Lucius

The first Sunday after Severus' return, Lucius sensed a volatility in Harry that he decided to push. The boy had shown up with a dark cloud hovering over his head. He was testy in their interactions and had declined to have a friendly duel. Draco was having dinner with his girlfriend's visiting American family, so he'd taken Harry into his study for a chat before dinner.

"Well, son, while Severus is so accessible and amenable, perhaps you ought to review with him what you would need for your NEWTS in potions and defense?"

It was like adding kerosine to a smoldering fire. No sooner had he broached the subject, than the eruption of temper brought everything to the table.

"You're wasting your breath! It's not going to happen!" Harry raged, fists clenched, shoulders hunched defensively, eyes flashing defiantly, and chest already heaving. "I am not going to subject myself to that kind of misery again!"

"Young man, you will modify your tone immediately!" Lucius warned, his own voice deceptively quiet, yet icy and fierce. "Allow yourself to consider that I am not foolish enough to think that I can cow you into returning to school only to watch you flounder unhappily and waste not only your own time, but that of your instructors." He stepped closer to Harry, towering over him threateningly. "Allow as well that I am not so bullheaded as to insist you put yourself into unhappy circumstances simply to suit _my_ ideals regardless of the cost to _you."_ He could see by the flicker of emotion over Harry's face that he'd mentally checked himself a tiny fraction. But he leaned down to put his mouth close to Harry's ear and said quietly with stern promise to deliver, "And if I hear that tone from you again, I'll spank you soundly."

Harry stepped back warily. "I knew this was coming," he said between gritted teeth.

Lucius raised his eyebrows. "Did you?"

"Yes," the boy grumbled. "Because I won't agree to go back to Hogwarts."

"No, foolish boy. To encourage you to have a civil discussion on the subject. You are withholding your real reasons for resisting further education. We have been skirting around this issue for months. You have yet to explain yourself."

"There's nothing to explain!" Harry said angrily. He edged back from Lucius again, but clearly was not able to reign in his frustration. "I'm done with school."

"Why is that?" Lucius asked calmly.

"Because I am _done_ with it."

"That's not an answer, young man. You're being sullen and rude, and you've been warned. Take a moment to form a coherent thought and then _answer _me. Please believe my sincerity when I tell you that this will never go away-"

"It will never go away regardless!" Harry blurted out in a wounded voice.

"But you can chip away at the worst of it and take some comfort from sharing your burden with others, Harry. That's how we survive as human beings."

"I don't want to say these things to you," Harry said tightly.

"And I'm guessing I'll wish you hadn't had to, but I'm not going to take the coward's way out and run from hearing about my role in your suffering."

And with that, Harry was steered by the older man backwards a few yards to be seated on the settee. Lucius moved a chair over to sit facing him with an expression of calm resolve. It was exactly what Harry did not want to see, but he realized he had run out of options, short of fleeing Malfoy Manor to escape _the 3-day burn,_ as Draco had called his father's wallopings. He took a few deep breaths and cleared his throat. "It's not going to make sense to you."

"I'm listening, Harry," Lucius said softly.

Harry pressed his lips together, intensity tightening his chest again and his voice, but he finally launched into it. "In so many ways, I _hate_ the wizarding world… I hate the institutionalized inequities. I hate the way so many wizards are so quick to abuse their power. And most of all, I hate how easy it is to do so. I think it's completely vile, and when I really stop to think about it, I want to leave Wizarding Britain altogether. I'm still not convinced I won't."

Lucius leaned forward, elbows on his knees, eyes on Harry's face. "Are you ashamed that you feel this way?" He asked.

Harry gaped at him. "Don't you get it? So much of why I feel this stuff is because of the way _you_, and your _wife and son_, treated me _on sight_. You were all so utterly superior and so quick to show your disdain for anyone less fortunate. You made so many of us feel like _shite._ So many _children_ feel like shite. You goaded the Ministry into declaring me a liar after the graveyard, and readily gave that horrible interview to the _Prophet._ I'd had no friends for most of 4th year because of the Tournament, and then it was thousands times worse in 5th because of that article. _Everyone_ called me a liar. It was clear that Draco was encouraged to be as cruel and vile as …-do you know how many times he called my _mother a mudblood?_ Or Hermione? Do you have any idea what it's like to be on the receiving end of that kind of _hatred?_ For something that is out of your control?" Harry was seething. He stopped and gulped in air, swiping at his eyes, glaring at his pseudo guardian's knees, not ready to see Lucius' face yet. "You encouraged and enabled all of the horrible things that went on when Umbridge came to the scene. I hated you because you were so mean. I dreaded the sight of you. You… you _raised your wand at me_ when I was twelve. You might have _killed_ me." Here, his voice broke. "I'd just fought a bloody basilisk and you're throwing the killing curse at me! _I was a bloody second year."_ He scrubbed at his face in frustration then finally set his confrontational glare on Lucius. "I had _no one_ to go to with my nightmares about all of that. And every time I saw you after that, it would bring it all back."

Lucius had been expecting to be set straight about his horrible past by Harry, but had not been prepared for how much it would bother him to know he'd hurt this boy. He held the boy's glare without flinching, but felt compelled to offer something, _something_ as a concession to Harry's recollection of the powerlessness he'd experienced. "But then, Harry, you saw us all groveling in the miserable muck that we'd reduced our lives to, through our own foolishness and cruelty. And you never so much as rejoiced in our requital. You witnessed our wretched humiliation and the destruction of our power, and yet you somehow only saw our humanity and were compassionate. Instantly." Lucius supplied. "You saved my _son_ twice during the battle, as well as my wife's life and mine by destroying Voldemort. You gave statements to Minister Shacklebolt that you'd witnessed our duress when I'd fallen out of favor with Voldemort. Whatever you said convinced him to let us stay free."

They stared at each other while Harry processed this. He wasn't ready to finish his rant, but this recognition from Lucius had derailed him slightly._ It was all so bloody complicated._

_"_You know so much more about the goodness in people than I could ever hope to, Harry. Enough to know that when people get their arrogant arses handed to them on a filthy platter, they sometimes come to their senses. You gave us all a chance."

Harry leaned back into the cushions, eyes warily allowing the older man to hold his gaze. "Yeah," he said. "But I don't believe all that prejudice out there is just _gone_ now. I have absolutely no desire to go anywhere near that kind of mindset ever again. And this whole time that we've grown close, I've been dreading the possibility that you could revert back to that side of your nature."

Now Lucius leaned back and cast his eyes over Harry's shoulder, digesting his words. Harry could see a wall going up by the set in his shoulders, but the man had been true to his word and had given his full attention to Harry's speech, and Harry knew instinctively that it had been painful to hear.

Lucius was calm when he said, "Continue. Please."

Harry clenched and unclenched his hands while he searched for the words to say next. "Whenever I think about what it would be like to return to school, to be under the authority all over again, of people who abuse their power, I feel sick to my stomach. I have no faith that people will have changed with the fall of Voldemort. I've seen for myself how basic human weakness allowed him to have that much power to begin with. It's just too easy to use cruelty and evil to get ahead." He looked the older man meaningfully in the eyes. "I don't want any part of it, Lucius."

Lucius blinked rapidly a couple of times, inhaling deeply as he digested his young charge's words. "No, I can see why you would not. I don't think I need to point out that you would no longer be physically vulnerable to these power-abusing adults attempting to call themselves educators while they push through their own agendas."

"No, I know I can take care of myself now," Harry said. His stomach hurt from the way he'd been clenching it since he'd arrived at the manor today. "But every year that I was at Hogwarts, there was at least one adult in authority mistreating me. I could prevent that from happening now because I'm no longer a minor, but if the school board is as inept as it was the last time I was there, I'll end up leaving in disgust anyway."

"Your concerns are quite valid, Harry," Lucius told him. "Do you not see that this is more than just a problem that you alone could face upon returning to school? That it's something that would effect all of the students?"

"I guess." Harry said.

"And do you really think that those in the group you formed, the DA, who all fought for the Light alongside you, would sit back and silently allow adults to carry on in such a way? Do you not think that you may have left a bit of a legacy in your wake? I'm quite certain Mr. Longbottom would not hesitate to challenge an abuse of power. Quite certain."

Harry couldn't help but smile slightly at that. Neville really _had_ achieved _god status_ in Lucius' eyes. He suddenly realized he was calmer now, that he'd said the worst of what he'd had to say to Lucius, and the man was still speaking to him with fatherly concern. And of course, Lucius had been right earlier when he'd told Harry as much. But Harry had been certain the Malfoys would cast him out if he'd ever revealed these sentiments to them. He was brought out from his reverie when Lucius leaned forward and took both of his hands and squeezed them. It was then that Harry realized the older wizard was trembling as much as he was.

"This, Harry, this disclosure between us, right now, is an exercise in trust. Do you understand? We cannot fully grow to trust each other until we can be completely genuine without fear of rejection."

Harry gave him a pained look. "Then be genuine with me too, sir. Do you trust me now that you know that I feel this way?"

"I trust you more than ever, and am proud of your courage to express these sentiments, as harsh as they are." When Harry gave him a doubtful look, Lucius squeezed the boys hands again. He inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. "These are your feelings. They are not acts against me, nor are they declarations of intention to hurt me, or my family. What you have revealed is a confession of how much _we_ hurt _you_. You have told me of my failures." He leaned back. "Now, I won't pretend that hearing it was easy, but you did not hurt my feelings. You took down a wall that has been between us, that was there as result of my actions, not yours. I am the lucky one thus far, to have been given the chance to befriend you, in spite of my past transgressions against you. And there will be no more transgressions of that nature between us. I promise you that. All right?"

"Yeah." Harry looked away with a slight frown as he processed what he'd just been told. He sighed in self deprecation and looked back a Lucius. "So, what you're saying, sir, is that I could have saved us both a lot of tension if I'd just bloody well said all of this beforehand?"

"Language, young man," Lucius warned, but then he stood up and gestured for Harry to stand too so that he could envelope him in a comforting hug. "Yes, my foolish lad, that is what I'm saying." He rubbed Harry's back for a few minutes and Harry leaned into the embrace, accepting the caring without reservation. "This was a very big step tonight, Harry. For both of us. You are way too wise to not gain tremendous insight into the way you will begin to feel after this. You will see. You've lightened your burden by telling me how you've been feeling. You need to do the same with Severus. And you will not overstep if you are as open and honest with him as you just were with me."

"But we haven't resolved my refusal to continue my schooling, sir," Harry said.

"You've revealed the barriers between here and that point of resolution, Harry. I think now you also see that it is going to require more thought and more discussion. In the end, if you still conclude that you don't want to educate yourself further, I will not condemn your choice."

"Yes, but will you _condescend,_ sir?" Harry muttered into his shoulder.

Lucius laughed heartily and squeezed Harry tight. "I never _condescend,"_ he said loftily. "I'm merely _exceptionally open_ with my opinions." He released the boy and stepped back. "Come, we have likely made dinner late, and Narcissa will be worried about you."

Harry allowed himself to be guided out of the room by the firm hand on his shoulder, mind whirling at what had just taken place. He was glad Lucius had said what he had about needing to be open in the same way with Severus, but saw the issues with his former professor in a different context. In most ways, Severus had been more abusive than Lucius simply because he'd had much more access to Harry.

OooOooOooOooO

Narcissa fussed over Harry during dinner, clearly seeing the signs of his recent distress, and accepting his refusal of second helpings easily, so much so that he felt compelled to promise her to snack before bed if his appetite returned. He confessed that his stomach had been hurting from nerves all day. The tightening around her mouth as she cast a reproachful glare at her husband surprised Harry. He felt an unexpected lump in his throat at the realization that she had become so protective of him. So when she walked him out to the apparition point and asked discretely if he was alright, he told her he was, and then kissed her cheek and hugged her longer than usual, which left them both sentimental and blurry eyed. He hastily bade her goodnight and _popped_ out of sight.

OooOooOooOooO

At home, Harry walked up the stairs quietly, not seeing Severus and thinking he might just make it to bed without encountering him...

"You're home," his newest pseudo guardian said from the first floor landing.

Harry turned and looked down at him from the half-flight of stairs he'd climbed, knowing that Severus would see that he'd been upset. When the man frowned up at him and suggested a cup of tea before retiring for the night, Harry begged off. "I really just want to get to bed, sir."

"Did you leave the Malfoys on bad terms?"

"No, we're fine, we just had a confrontation… I need to sleep on it." Severus had been climbing the stairs as Harry spoke and now was beside him, escorting him up the remaining steps to the third floor. Harry turned to face his former professor, hoping that he'd be allowed to refrain from further explanation. "Good night, sir," he said softly.

"Uhm hmm," Severus hummed skeptically but snaked his arm out and around Harry's shoulders and pulled him in for a hug, placing a kiss on his temple and squeezing him tightly. He'd been doing that nightly now, and Harry was nearly moved to tears each time he did. "Good night, Mr. Potter."

Severus hovered by the door while Harry kicked off his shoes and grabbed pajamas to change into while in the bathroom brushing his teeth. When he came out and crawled into bed, the older wizard flipped the muggle light switch off and quietly closed the door, leaving Harry to fall into a heavy slumber filled with emotional dreams that he couldn't recall the following morning.


	12. Chapter 12

**_A/N Hi everyone. At this point, I'm not certain where the story will end. It was originally going to end on the 1yr memorial. But as of now, it will probably go to Harry's 19th birthday. TBD, or course. Suggestions are welcome! thanks for reading and encouraging me! _E****njoy!**

Chapter Twelve - Failure To Thrive - Aftermath

The floo in Lucius' study flared just as Narcissa was checking to see if her husband was in there. She saw Severus' head and asked him to come through. "I can't find Lucius," she informed Severus as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"You all had a heavy evening, I take it?"

"Harry and Lucius did," she answered worriedly. "They spent a long time in here together tonight and I could tell my husband had pushed Harry to break down. They both looked emotionally spent when they came to the dinner table, and I'd thought that Harry'd gotten the worst of it. But now I realize Lucius must have been holding himself together for the boy's sake."

"That is what I was suspecting…" Severus murmured. He sighed. "Would you like me to have a look for your husband, or shall I leave you to draw him out?"

"You go ahead and have a talk with him. He's likely out on the grounds walking through his thoughts," Narcissa said. "I'm sure your insights would be helpful right now."

Severus gave her a slight bow and swept out of the room, his coat flapping not-so-dramatically in his wake. He strode purposefully through the foyer and conservatory and out to the gardens, then cast a silent _point me Lucius _with his wand. He found his friend after a few moments slumped on a bench with head in hands. "Lucius," he said quietly, approaching slowly. He'd never before seen Lucius break down. He'd seen him come close, and could remember his relief that the older wizard had reclaimed himself on the last occasion they were together before the Dark Lord's fall. He had a sudden flash of realization that it was no longer a perilous situation for any of them to _lose their shit,_ as his American muggle friends had called _breaking down._ There was no risk of exposure if Lucius admitted to his distress.

He sat next to Lucius and leaned forward with elbows on knees. "It's not easy being a good person, is it, old friend?"

"I'll have to get back to you about that," Lucius said, hands still covering his face.

Severus sat up straight and lay a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Do you want to share what happened?"

Lucius scrubbed at his face with his hands. "I've always known I was a powerful wizard, Severus. I could claim _that _in my own right, regardless of heritage and wealth. And even as it dawned on me these last years that I had devoted my life to sycophantic servitude to a mad man, I at least knew I was still talented and powerful with a wand, and that could be enough. I've since had to let go of blood purity as a means to maintain my self-proclaimed superiority. I had to relinquish much of my wealth to prove my regret for my misdeeds, and I was able to do it without hesitation." He swiped at the moisture under his eyes. "I've told myself that in spite of my fall from what _I thought _was grace these last years, that I still have _my power."_ Severus squeezed his shoulder as he stopped to collect his thoughts. "Harry told me tonight that my power had caused him to see himself, and the wizarding way of life, in a horrible light. He wants nothing to do with a world that classifies people by what they are born into, rather than their merits as wizards. He considers his experiences thus far as a blueprint for what to expect if he immerses himself in adult society. He disparages the ineptitude of politicized institutions, including Hogwarts."

"I can't fault him for that," Severus said, impressed to hear that Harry and he shared these sentiments.

Lucius continued brokenly, "And I have no defense but to _receive_ this… dose of reality. Harry let me know that my snobbery and disdain had been as damaging for him as my cruelest hexes." His hands again covered his face and his shoulders shook. "If I could hurt a schoolboy I didn't even care to know to such an extent, what in the world have I done to my son over the years?"

"You've made mistakes, as have I," Severus said. "And this is part of owning up to them. You have not lost Draco, and your bond with him is still very strong. With Harry, it is as well."

"How does he do it, Severus? How does he… see the good in us?"

"I honestly don't know, but I can only be grateful. It's made coming back here a pleasurable experience. I'm truly feeling happy in my own right."

"As am I," Lucius said, but the sniff and conjuring of a handkerchief somewhat detracted from the weight of his statement. He cast a glance over his shoulder and caught Severus' smirk and chuckled. He mopped his face again and sat up straight. "I'm very glad you've returned, Severus. I'm glad to have someone I trust around while I learn to be a better person."

"Well, you can help me along. I'll follow your lead."

"Nonsense," Lucius retorted. "You're the resurrected tragic hero."

"I was a bitter bastard with nothing good in my mind or deeds," Severus told him. "The only reason I can be pleasant company now is because I literally abandoned my entire previous life. Harry tells me I'm simply being the man I was meant to be. He's probably right."

"He probably is."

"And what lies unresolved between that boy and me is different from what is between the two of you." Severus told Lucius. "My loathsome treatment was based on groundless bitterness. I never imagined myself superior to him, but simply made it my life's quest to make sure _he _never felt superior to anyone. It is pathetic to even try to define it."

"But you will," Lucius pointed out. "Because it will be a relief to clear the air."

"Yes." Severus gave his friend's knee a pat before he stood.

Lucius stood as well. "I was substantially unsettled by what he'd unleashed of his wrath this evening, and could barely hold myself together until he left... I will check on him soon to be certain he bears no confusion about where he stands in my heart, although I'm pretty certain I've made this quite clear to him."

"We've both become _huggers,"_ Severus said, as if that were a weakness to be ashamed of.

"Yes, and I rather like it."

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When Harry had not appeared downstairs by his customary half-seven habit, Severus knocked on his bedroom door to check on him. Harry came to the door still clad in his pajamas. It was clear he was still feeling badly about the previous night. "Good morning, sir," he said softly.

"Are you not well?" Severus asked.

"I think I'd prefer to stay in bed this morning."

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

Harry looked up at him. "I got into it with Lucius. I said things that I didn't want to say and I don't feel right about it."

"You said things that needed to be said." Severus told him. "Lucius needed to hear your perspective, Harry. Many of us do. I wish you weren't feeling so heavy about it. Do not hold yourself accountable for calling Lucius out on his past behavior."

"But I could tell he felt really bad," Harry said.

"And he would have done regardless of who told him what was what. But he was told by someone he loves and trusts. Do you no longer care for him, now that you've aired your views?"

"No! I mean, of course I do!" Harry protested.

"And he knows this, so stop worrying about him," Severus chided gently. "Get back in bed. Are you hungry? Shall I send Kreacher up with some breakfast?" He saw Harry weigh the risk of refusing to eat. "I'll also send the stomach potion, shall I? It's time you tried it. I'll wager it will help."

"Okay. Thanks, Severus," Harry whispered.

OooOooOooOooO

Harry appeared in time for lunch, so they went to the kitchen together.

At the table, Severus said, "Lucius didn't consider last night's confrontation as anything other than constructive, you realize."

"I know," Harry said. "I just really didn't want to let loose on him like that. I've only ever done it to Sirius and Remus after I saw your memories from back in your school days. The next thing I knew, Sirius was dead, then Remus and I were at odds so much after that, and we never really got to have a good conversation again. And he's dead too."

Severus could feel the weight of that loss from Harry. He refrained from following the subject tangent of the departed Marauders. "Were you fearful that you would lose Lucius?"

"I guess it's not exactly rational, but yeah," Harry admitted.

"When I saw him last night, he'd had some time to process what you'd told him," Severus said. He saw the pained expression cross Harry's face and reached out to cup his chin and hold his gaze. "You are the only one who has ever let him know how much genuine destruction his horrid behavior had caused. You did him a favor, even though he feels wretched now."

"This is not making me feel better, Severus," Harry whispered. "Is he okay?"

"He is." Severus confirmed, releasing the boy's chin. "Harry, in my own limited experience, I have learned that I was most fearful of my own truths. It's the fear that has the power." He could see he had Harry's full attention. "Power is a strange force of nature," Severus told him. "In the past, you gave Lucius the power to disparage your faith in wizards as a race. He just gave you the power to show him the ugliness of his old perspective."

"I'm giving you the power to help me get back on track," Harry told him to show he understood. "But I also used let you make me so angry and defensive… and rude. In the past."

"And I gave you the power to make me believe you cared little for my opinion of you in the past. Now I want to be worthy of your trust, and of your forgiveness one day."

"When we talk like this, I feel like I have forgiven you, Severus. Like, none of the past matters."

"And maybe you have forgiven me some of the lesser of my misdeeds," Severus agreed. "But not all. That will take time."

"And we have that, do we not?" Harry mimicked him.

"Brat."

They ate in silence for a time.

"Severus, I have a lot to apologize for too. I didn't make any effort to be respectful to you, even when Dumbledore admonished me to. I hope you can forgive my bad behavior some day too. Like when I looked in your pensive and was too afraid to apologize to you, and the way I rarely tried to practice Occlusion. But mostly for when I called you out in front of the school, never once considering all of the past occasions that Dumbledore had told me to trust him on his judgement of your character. I refused to believe you were good."

"Harry, I was _not_ good. I was wretched, bitter and cold to everyone. I was on the side of the Light, as were you, but I brought darkness wherever I went."

"Not when you were with Dumbledore, or Draco," Harry corrected. "I saw that for myself. And Minerva seems to adore you, and you were good to the Slytherins."

"I favored them over _you,_ was that _good?"_

"You're right," Harry concluded quickly with a sarcastic smirk. "You were _awful."_

"Then we're agreed." Severus said. He took a moment to eat a couple of sandwiches. "Tell me something about what your life is like, today, nearly a year after you put Voldemort down?" Severus suggested.

"You mean, being nearly nineteen years old and looking like a living memory of the worst part of your childhood?" Harry asked. "It's fantastic, that's what." Severus gave him a level look that suggested he be more forth coming. "I just can't seem to talk about the hard stuff without…," Harry stopped and weighed the risk of sharing the next tidbit. "I was not allowed to cry when I was with the Dursleys. They'd go mad if I did and_ I paid for it._ They didn't get as upset about my mouthing off to them, though. That's probably why I had the courage to show the cheek I showed you and the others who mistreated me." He shot a look at Severus. "I never liked that side of myself, by the way. But now… now, I just seem to fall apart at the slightest sentiment. Hermione thinks its because of the Failure to Thrive - that I didn't get to really recover from everything that happened. She thinks I have to experience being this physical age again in order to recover. If she's right, and she always is, this condition has taken me back to the end of fourth year, when the worst times were just beginning."

"Clever woman, that Miss Granger," Severus said.

Harry smiled at that. "When I turned seventeen, I was a lot taller and more filled out. I had body hair and needed to shave daily. By the time I showed up here to confront Voldemort, I'd lost tons of weight and all of that manly hair. I didn't realize how short I'd gotten though, so I thought it was because I'd gotten really skinny out on the hunt. I'd say by that point I was back to where I'd been at sixteen. Then the changes came way more quickly and by the first memorial, I was back to barely fifteen. I've been wondering if I would have continued to decline if Lucius and Narcissa hadn't stepped up to help me out."

"Perhaps," Severus agreed. "Or, perhaps your worst trauma was during the Tournament, and you'd reached the depth of the decline already." He studied Harry now. "Now you look to me the way you did at the end of your fifth year, which would mean you've recovered about a year's worth of development in just under twelve months. I am also remembering that you grew slowly until the end of your sixth year. Perhaps you will follow that same pace now.

"Great."

"And be glad of what is now behind you," Severus advised. "You've passed a milestone by admitting where you stand with the wizarding world. I've suspected as much, since you dress almost exclusively muggle and have introduced many muggle amenities into your home."

"You too though, right?"

Severus nodded, raising his cup to take a careful sip of his hot coffee. "I imagine I've returned to my roots. I also believe I simply had to relinquish all of my former trappings. I much prefer my current wardrobe, for example. The all-black, all buttoned up and tightly confined style of old feels like a memory that belongs to another wizard."

"I think it's easier to know you now. You are much more approachable because you're less formal." Harry took a selection of sandwiches from the tray they were sharing. "I was surprised at how easily the Malfoys let go of trying to teach me proper etiquette. We have covered table manners and I do have a set of robes for most occasions on hand. That was enough for them. They seem to be fine with my jeans and jumpers. Now that he's dating an American, Draco wears them more often than not as well."

"And Lucius," Severus added.

Harry grinned. "The man looks almost at home in jeans. I bet he'd wear them more if Narcissa wasn't so unsettled by the sight."

"I don't think _unsettled_ is what she feels," Severus snarked. "They have quite the love affair, those two."

"Yeah. It's nice."

They ate in silence for a time.

"Hermione tells me the two of you had coffee together," Harry said casually.

Severus' eyes darted up. "We did," he said carefully. "I have finally accepted that the fact that she knows _everything_ is actually a _pleasant _trait." When Harry grinned at him and wobbled his eyebrows, Severus smiled, but refused to take the bait. "I came away from our chat with some interesting insights. You should find it to be poetic justice that I've concluded that the bond of friendship among you of the _Trio_ is magically enhanced by the dynamic created by the chemistry in your personalities."

Harry shook his head, only partially feigning befuddlement. "You'll have to explain that one, sir."

"Lucius recently shared his memory of the encounter with Dolores Umbridge last summer from his vantage point. Hermione had told the tale earlier over coffee, so I had an idea of what had played out before I saw it for myself. Watching through Lucius' perspective actually revealed a very powerful synergy between the three of you in wand battle. It's mesmerizing and rather fantastic to witness. There is so much instinctual reaction that seems to feed off of the interplay between you."

"Yeah," Harry said. "I hadn't really thought of it in those terms, but I can tell you that it keeps evolving. When I got hit with Umbridge's blasting curse, I remember thinking I was mimicking what Hermione would have done as I was responding. There were a handful of life-or-death moments on the hunt when Hermione reacted in mid-flight. She can apparate, shield, and cast while she's flying - as in _been thrown_ - through the air. I picked up on her skills. She's picked up on my style of deflective shields. Ron too, and then Hermione and I have learned to read a situation and plot out our moves, the way Ron does."

"I've told you before that there is much potential for your talents." Severus steepled his hands and pressed them to his lips, eyes narrowed as he contemplated. "Perhaps you should consider compiling content for a textbook on magical defense."

Harry gave him a strange look. "Huh," was all he could muster in response.

"And Harry, as you and I take steps to work through our issues from the past," Severus started. He was not pleased to see the dread in Harry's eyes. "I wanted to let you know that I've been considering the best course to follow, and it's occurred to me that exploring our memories of events might be a place to start. How would that sound to you?"

"I've been thinking that too," Harry admitted in surprise. "I was actually trying to think of a way to do it without a pensive, but _not _through Legilimancy."

"Merlin, no," Severus agreed. He held Harry's gaze distractedly while he pondered the boy's idea. "That is rather clever thinking, young man… we need another form of vessel to contain the memories, that is more easily viewable."

"Like a cinema screen," Harry said softly. "I was wondering about transfiguring a pensive into another form, whether it would work-"

Severus raised an impressed eyebrow. "I'm not certain it would be possible, but we should investigate. It's an ideal starting point. I will admit that I am not well-versed in transfiguration," Severus said. He smiled a sad smile. "In times gone by, your mother would have been my go-to for advice on this. Next would be Remus Lupin. We could ask Minerva, of course. And William, or perhaps George Weasley."

Harry had looked away when Severus had brought up Lily and Remus. He turned back with a sad smile of his own. "We have Hermione, the research queen."

Severus smirked. "I'd actually like to do a little research myself. Are you up for a visit to the Malfoys this soon?"

"Of course," Harry said.

_Lucius will be relieved._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N _Wow, it's amazing how quickly I come up with what to write next when people are actually reading my work. ;-) This is the first time in my life that strangers have read a story of mine and it's an awesome feeling. So please know I'm eternally grateful. This chapter is a bridge into an idea that just came to me which will add some dimension to the plot. Enjoy!_**

Chapter Thirteen - Failure To Thrive - Warding

"I would have thought you'd have your own library to delve into for answers," Harry commented after their nearly simultaneous _pops_ into the apparition zone at Malfoy Manor.

"I do, brat," Severus said, reaching out to cup has hand around the back of Harry's neck as they walked towards the entrance. "But it's all packed away for safe keeping while we renovate, and it's therefore far easier to start here. I could always try the internet as well."

"No way," Harry said in disbelief. "You couldn't research magic that way!"

"Of course I can," Severus said. "That's why I purchased a computer." When the teen cast him a doubtful look, he continued, "There is a muggle fringe culture, both here and in the states, of people who are fascinated with wizarding folklore that the muggles think is imaginary. Lexicons have been established on the internet for people to reference, to get exact information about characters and story universes that they believe to be completely fictitious. I stumbled upon several websites that actually have real magical references available in the guise of this style of lexicon."

"Wicked," Harry said. "Will you show me?"

"I will."

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"Ah, there you are," Lucius greeted when they reached the door. He studied Harry with a visible touch of apprehension. "Alright, my lad?"

"Yeah," Harry said, going straight up to his pseudo guardian and hugging him. "You?"

"I'm fine, Harry," Lucius said, returning the embrace. When they pulled apart, he winked at the boy before clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Severus."

"Lucius," Severus returned. "We are on a quest to either locate or create a means to witness memories that does not require bending over and dunking ones head into a basin."

"Ah," Lucius responded with interest, but his tone clearly said _good luck with that._ "Do let me know how you fare. I will be reworking the interior blueprint for your home. Something is not quite adding up with the dimensions. Is there a secret room, or something unplotted about the property?"

Severus raised his eyebrows. "I don't believe so. I've always been under the impression that my mother was the first magical person to inhabit that house. I believe she would have told me if she'd created a secret space."

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Research in the manor library yielded a number of books on transfiguration, memory development, and spell generation. Harry sat down with a volume called _On The Spot Nonverbal Casting,_ and soon became absorbed_._ Severus' comment over lunch had struck a chord with Harry. He'd been paying closer attention to his senses while he'd dueled the few additional times with Severus. As he read the text on self monitoring ones own magical response to his own wand verses a borrowed one, it dawned on Harry that he had been _studying_ magic all along, literally watching and mimicking the nonverbal spells he would see, and very likely had more often than not created his own variation. When he'd had the blackthorn wand in the Foest of Dean, and then later with Draco's, he'd done this exact thing and had adjusted his magic to respond to each of those wands. The book went on to describe the occasions when nonverbal casting was not ideal. Thinking on this, Harry reflected that he still liked to shout his spells at times, feeling that the force of his voice set the intensity of the magic for certain applications. His mind wandered as he made a plan to have Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny if she was around, come over to Grimmauld Place this week to have a go at what Lucius had referred to as _dueling games._ They could all pay closer attention to their casting and share insights.

"And, here I was just about to compliment you for actually reading a book, but there you go, off to who knows where," Severus teased in a softened version of his professor persona.

Harry quirked a half smile at him. "I'm _thinking."_

"Hmmm. Scary, that." But the squeeze to Harry's shoulder blatantly contradicted the taunting in the words.

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"We've got company," Lucius called into the room as he walked past the library to go open the front door.

Severus frowned as he and Harry left their books and followed Lucius to the manor entrance.

Kingsley Shacklebolt stood in the foyer with Lucius and Narcissa as they approached. He turned when he heard them. "Oh good. I thought I might find Harry and Severus here as well," he told the Malfoys. "I need to speak with all of you about a matter of some urgency."

"Certainly," Lucius said calmly, but no one was fooled. He was alarmed. "Let's gather in the conservatory then."

Kingsley didn't waste time with minor chitchat after saying a brief hello to Draco, who had sensed the Minister's arrival through the wards, and had come down from his room to join them. "Lucius, I need to know if any of you have had any contact with either of the Lestrange brothers?"

The Malfoys each had a look of distaste on his or her face at the question, as if speaking the name _Lestrange_ had released a foul stench into the air.

"Someone has attempted to breach our wards twice in the last ten days," Lucius said slowly, an edge to his voice that could be read as unsettled, or haughty, depending on how well one knew him. "I hadn't detected any damage."

"Uhm hmm," Kingsley thought. "How powerful would you rank those two wizards?"

"Quite," Lucius said. "I hadn't thought it possible that either would be foolish enough to remain in Britain. Of all of the unaccounted-for Death Eaters, those two would be the only two with whom I'd fear a confrontation. I suppose if they have stayed all of this time, or have returned… the fact that they've possibly shown up here is not a good sign. It confirms that they are angry with me." He looked over at Severus. "You would be a target as well."

Harry and Draco shared a worried look. "How well is Spinner's End warded?" Harry asked Severus.

"As well as this manor, and Grimmauld Place," Severus told him. "None of us are in immediate danger as long as we are in our homes, correct, Minister?"

"Yes," Kingsley confirmed.

"What about the Weasleys?" Harry asked. "Molly could be a target."

"I just came from the Burrow. Their wards are the strongest I've seen outside of Hogwarts. Between Molly and Arthur and all of their children, they've got a masterful web of protection set up for themselves. I'd like to make sure each of your homes have the same."

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They had split up to scan the wards around the manor. Harry and Draco were in the back area beyond the pond, at the property boundary. Harry was walking with his arms stretched out, wand in hand, sensing the magic quite strongly. He'd studied the Malfoy's wards before, out of curiosity, when he'd first started coming over here. (It never hurt to pick up some tips for methods of protection from fellow wizards, especially those renown for their power.) So he was confident he would sense a weakening, if any area had been compromised.

"Why aren't you scanning too, Junior?" Harry asked. Draco shot him an irritated look, which pleased Harry to no end._ Point scored._ "Are you so magically attuned that you don't have to have your wand out?"

"Actually I am, little man," Draco returned. "But then you know that. So why don't you get to the point?"

"Okay," Harry said, more seriously. "Why don't I ever see you use your wand? Is your new one a bad fit?"

"No," Draco said. They'd stopped and were facing each other now. "I actually just… I have a lot of restrictions set on what I can do with my magic while I'm on probation, Harry. It's probably paranoia, but I am reluctant to use it too regularly, in case I do something on instinct that triggers the trace to alert the aurors."

"Oh," Harry said. "Would that mean you won't join the dueling match I'm planning with your dad and Severus?"

Draco's eyes lit up, but in a flash, the enthusiasm died. "It's not that I wouldn't want to, but the fear of Azkaban trumps my desire to have a bit of fun tousling with all of you Gryffindors, you see."

"But you _are_ allowed to use your wand pretty much as you please on these grounds, though, right? As long as it's nonlethal? If we held it here, wouldn't anything that you'd cast in a duel be within that range? Or is there something I should know about your interpretation of _sport?"_

"Hah hah," Draco said defensively. "I know how to play, Potter. Don't forget, Severus is my godfather."

"That's true," Harry said thoughtfully. "Are you going to spend time with him, regularly again, now that he's back?"

Draco shot Harry an uncomfortable look. "I know you need to work stuff out with him. I don't want to get in the way of that."

"You wouldn't be," Harry said quickly. He was not oblivious to Draco's unhealed wounds, by any means. "Honestly. I know I've been a bit of a headcase, but have I really left you thinking that I need _that much _of his attention? You make it sound like every waking moment is spent working through my problems."

"Isn't it?" Draco snarked. _"Headcase."_

"Oh, give it a rest," Harry barked back with feigned annoyance. His eye caught a movement in the grass and he watched for it again. "Hey, Draco, is either one of your uncles an animagus, by any chance?"

"Rabistan is _not_ my uncle, Potter, and actually Rodolphus is no longer either, now that Bella is out of her misery-" Draco caught himself. "Wait, why are you asking? And I have no idea if either one is an animagus."

"I actually hadn't thought of it until now, but would the wards be able to keep out animagi?" Harry asked as he stepped closer to the snake he could now clearly see slithering towards them. He pointed his wand at it, his stomach clenching as he focused his complete attention on the reptile. "Hello there, little one, where exactly are you headed?"

"Why don't you speak its language to it?" Draco asked, stepping closer to Harry, aware that the dark haired wizard had his wand at the ready, and instinctively palming his own.

"I thought I was," Harry said in a rush as the snake suddenly reared up and gave the impression it would strike.

_"Revelio!"_

_"Perfunis!"_

Both Harry and Draco cast simultaneously, and for a flash of an instant, each fully expected to find a hogtied Death Eater on the grass before them. Except that that wasn't the case. What was before them was an angry and confused five foot long Mud Snake, now ineffectively bound in ropes from Draco's attempt to restrain it and slipping away without further efforts to impede it from the two wizards.

"And to think I called it _little one._" Harry muttered. "I'm rather glad I can't understand what it's saying just now." The thought made him laugh, until hilarious laughter overpowered him so intensely, he fell to his knees.

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"What are those two doing over there?" Lucius asked out loud as he watched Harry fall down laughing while Draco stood shaking his head at first, but then leaned forward with hands on his knees to try to contain his mirth.

"Harry appears to be in hysterics, and Draco is likely egging him on," Narcissa said with a smile. She found the sarcastic banter between her son and Harry to be entertaining, although she didn't often openly let it show, lest they see that as encouragement and get too carried away. Merlin forbid it get out of hand in polite company.

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"I never really knew when I was speaking parseltongue," Harry said, wiping his eyes. "That time in second year, when Lockhart had us dueling, was when I found out I was doing it. I'll never forget the looks on everyone's faces."

"So you could speak it because of the horcrux?" Draco asked. "And when _he_ died, so did your bilingual capabilities?"

"Apparently," Harry said sardonically. "This was the first time I'd tried it out."

"Well, thanks for the laugh, Scarhead. I can always count on you for that," Draco told him.

"Nice." Harry returned sarcastically, but he was enjoying the barbs.

"I wanted to ask you something, Harry," Draco said with a touch of hesitation.

"Alright," Harry said. "Have at it."

"I miss brewing with Severus. I was going to ask if he'd like to set up a lab again and we could spend some quality time together. We used to spend hours at a time on potions."

"Do it. I've no objections to setting up a lab at my place," Harry said. "I don't think Severus did much brewing while he was overseas. He hasn't said much about it yet, so maybe he needs a little push."

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"The wards are still flawless, as far as we can tell," Kinglsey told the group when they'd reassembled in the conservatory.

"You had mentioned the new practice of mixing magical sources in ward layering, Minister," Lucius said. "I'm quite interested in a demonstration."

"Excellent," Kingsley said. "Severus and I will apply the warding that we employed as Order partners. Harry, you could join your magic in with ours to intensify the effect even more so. And Lucius will tie in his so that all Malfoys will have the power to dismantle them, if needed."

"Alright," Harry agreed. He knew what Kingsley was referring to because he'd already done this with Grimmauld Place. He'd warded it himself, then had Ron and Hermione join him to create a second layer of variations of the wards they'd used around their tent in the Forest of Dean.

"We'll begin on the front half of the property and work our way around the perimeter. The interior will be done afterward," Kingsley said.

"Minister," Lucius started, and the edge had returned to his voice. "This sudden concern for our security has reminded me that much of the success of the Death Eater raids was possible because there are so many wizards in our society who do not know how to sufficiently protect themselves and their property. I would like to volunteer my own and my family's service to helping others properly ward their own homes and businesses."

"I am grateful for the offer, Lucius," Kingsley said, his voice deepening with sensitivity to what his next words would cost Lucius in pride. "But the limitations of your probation, and Draco's, would put you at risk if you use your wands for such powerful magic off your property. I'm sorry. I know it's a flawed logic in the legalities of your sentencing, but it is what it is, and it's not likely to change in the immediate future."

Lucius nodded tersely. "Understood," he said. But his nostrils flared as he struggled to hold his emotions in check.

"And just to be sure we are all agreed, I believe travel by floo is the best option for all of you while this potential threat still exists," he grinned at Harry. "It's not that I don't know you can look out for yourselves, of course, but at the very least, I believe limiting the visibility of your travel habits is a good idea at this time."

"We agree, Minister," Narcissa said, taking Lucius' hand.

"Actually, sir," Harry asked, "how many layers is practical, do you think? I'm wondering about adding some more to Hermione's flat."

"That's a good question, young man, and I believe it should be decided by the individuals within the household. Don't forget, there are occasions when wards need quick dismantling, and too much complexity could waste precious time in an emergency."

"Right," Harry said. He glanced around and saw that the others were in deep contemplation as well.

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"I am utterly famished," Harry declared as he stumbled out of the fireplace. By now, when using the floo network, Harry had at least gotten to the point where he always stayed on his feet, and used a wandless nonverbal cleaning charm on himself without really thinking about it.

Severus had arrived first and turned to lead the way to the kitchen. "That's likely due to the magical drain warding can cause. An early night would be a good idea."

If he expected an argument from Harry, he didn't get it as they entered the kitchen to find an attentive Kreacher serving up bowls of beef stew and setting a plate of crusty bread out on the table.

"Perfect choice, Kreacher," Harry praised gratefully. The shriveled elf preened under the praise and bowed deeply before disapparating away to his cupboard. Harry sat down and immediately started eating.

Severus followed suit and for the next several moments, the only sound was of cutlery clanging against stoneware, as they both ate hungrily. Finally, Severus broke the silence when they were nearly finished. "If I set up a lab here, you could brew with Draco and me," he suggested carefully.

Harry looked at him quickly and swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. "No," he said flatly.

"You wouldn't consider an opportunity to practice your skills? Perhaps create a stock of common remedies for your household stores?"

Harry held Severus' eyes, his expression cold. "No. I've a vault full of gold that can buy the best. I'll go that route."

"Your scars from my teaching methods are long reaching, then?" Severus asked quietly.

Harry's mouth quivered.

"What's behind that mask of indifference on your face, Harry?"

_"Rage,"_ Harry told him coldly. "This is not a productive topic for us."

"Understood," Severus said. "I won't ask again, but if you were to ever decide you felt differently, you have an open invitation."

There was a long, tense silence, and neither of them touched the remains of their food. The teen was trying to compose himself and had cast his eyes off in the distance, clenching his jaw while his chest heaved with unreleased tension.

"Tell me something good, Harry," Severus suggested. When the boy's eyes shot back at him, Severus asked, "Was there ever a singular moment when you saw me in a positive light?"

Harry's face softened slightly. "Yeah," he said gruffly. "In second year, when you showed that ponce, Lockheart, what real magic looks like." Now the boy's mood visibly shifted. "I can remember nearly seeing you as cool. _Nearly."_

"I've never been cool in my life," Severus said awkwardly. He regretted the question, and had been knocked off balance by how quickly Harry had shut off his anger.

Harry gave him a quizzical look. Then he smiled a warm smile of understanding that made Severus even more uncomfortable. "You bring a whole new definition to the word, Severus. And it was because of that day in second year that I was willing to trust you with our first duel last week. I remember when I'd heard that you were the new Defense professor in sixth year. Even then, with all of our bad history, I knew you'd be good at it. And it never occurred to me that I might be in danger while facing you with wands drawn in your class." The tables had turned and Harry definitely had the upper hand in this conversation as he watched his former professor struggle with what he was hearing. "But, that doesn't mean I didn't dread setting foot in that room each and every time I entered it."

Severus could only nod his acknowledgment of the sentiments the boy had shared. He wished there was more that he could do, to _undo_ all of the horridness he'd inflicted. The heaviness of guilt seemed to double his body weight suddenly, and he was sure if he stood, he'd have to hunch over to support it. "At the risk of redundancy, I have only the deepest of regrets over my behavior, Harry."

Harry pushed his plate aside and lay his arms on the table with his hands clasped, then leaned forward and put his chin on his hands. "I don't know what I need to hear from you," he said thoughtfully. "I know why you had to keep me in a negative light in your mind. I get it. And I get that if you'd done otherwise, it's quite likely neither one of us would be here today, or at the very least, neither of us would be living free of Voldemort."

"I would happily pay a penance, if there was a way for me to do so," Severus said quietly. "But I suspect that the mere act of engaging in honest dialogue is the most effective way to repair the damages."

"Yeah," Harry said. "And so is backing off when we touch on something that sets me off. So, thanks for letting it go, about brewing." He looked meaningfully at Severus. This was different than the conflict he'd just hashed out with Lucius. He didn't need to be threatened with having the truth smacked out of him to say things to Severus, but he needed his limits to be respected. And Severus clearly sensed this. _"Thanks,"_ Harry said again.

Severus' eyes had reddened around the edges as he'd watched Harry process his thoughts. He needed to go work off his own tension. "Will you be alright if I step out for a bit?"

Harry sat up straight again. "Sure." He clearly refrained from whatever else he wanted to say.

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Severus strode briskly down the street, putting distance between his heart and his past with each step he took away from Harry and Grimmauld Place. He was about to break down and bawl his eyes out, and the only place he knew he would find privacy to do so was Spinner's End. The floo to his home was currently shut off, and the wards could only be reversed by him, from his own fireplace. He kept his wand handy as he walked along, not foolish enough to miss the irony that if he were a character in a suspense-thriller plot, this would be the time for someone like him to be attacked or kidnapped. Severus rounded the corner, had a quick look around to be sure he was not in plain sight of any muggles and that there were no enemies about, and _popped _out of sight.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen - Failure To Thrive - Warning

Severus stepped out of the fireplace into the parlor at Grimmauld Place to find Harry stretched out on his stomach, asleep on the sofa, and knew instinctively the boy had been waiting up for him. He sighed at the mixture of warmth and fear that rushed through his chest as he realized how quickly they'd grown close. _Albus was right, of course. Harry Potter is very easy to love._ And now there was a new danger, and a new form of his old anxiety had surfaced tonight. He circled around the coffee table and knelt beside the sleeping teen, gently resting a hand on his back. "Harry, I've returned."

"Hmmm?" The boy sleepily opened his eyes, but they dropped heavily closed again.

Severus smirked fondly at the ridiculous brat. He indulged the rush of affection he felt as he rubbed Harry's back a couple of times, but then he landed a sharp swat on the boy's behind.

"What? I'm up!" Harry squirmed around and sat up groggily. "What'd I do?"

"Nothing. Yet," Severus said sternly. It took very little for him to summon the concern that had arisen as he'd toured his home earlier.

"Wait, _what?"_ Harry said in confusion. Now he was waking up. "Are you angry with me?"

"I'm determined to avoid a dire situation by nipping a bad habit of yours in the bud. Right now." Severus told him. When the boy gave him a look of pure exasperation, he knew he would be heard. "I could tell that Spinner's End had been tampered with. The wards held, of course, but someone had made a very determined effort to dismantle them."

"Oh," Harry said. "I haven't sensed anything here yet."

"That's good," Severus said. "But you are no doubt a target, and possibly your Trio counterparts as well."

"Okay," Harry said, growing miffed. "So what was the smack for?"

"That was me taking a fatherly tone with you, and I am prepared to follow through far more thoroughly, if needed." He raised himself up to sit beside Harry on the couch. By now the boy was openly testy and defensive, eyeing him warily. "The first thing I thought of when I recognized the level of skill in the tampering, was that whomever is behind it is quite determined. Anyone who is that determined to get at me, or at Lucius, will likely be equally determined to get to you. _My_ primary concern is _you,_ and _your safety._ You realize, that is not a new theme for me. I cannot help but recall the numerous times in the past, when I was trying to protect you from behind the scenes, in spite of my vicious attitude towards you, and you made it utterly impossible to do so."

"I was at school-" Harry sputtered.

"You took matters into your own hands, rules and help from more capable adults be damned," Severus told him severely. He was aware that he was coming across as his former self, but felt it necessary to get through to Harry right now, not later, in the event of an attack.

"Severus, I'm not a child now, er, well, I'm legally allowed to defend myself," Harry said, clearly confused by his former professor's tone.

_"You are not legally allowed to take the law into your own hands,"_ Severus told him harshly. "And if you would stop and think about the way you act when someone you care about is threatened, _you will know exactly_ what I'm getting at. The war is over, Harry. Law and order have been restored. There is no legal ground for you to decide you know how to handle criminal activity better than Magical Law Enforcement. If you do, you will be treated as a criminal yourself. Are you hearing me?"

"Yeah," Harry said, uncomfortable with being called to the table this way. He darted his eyes up to see that Severus was not satisfied. "I'm hearing you, sir," he tried again. But he turned back to glare at the flames and kept his profile to the older wizard.

"Albus purposely rewarded your foolish risk taking, rather than punish it. I always felt he was quite mistaken to have done so, as I know you are aware," Severus continued, still stern and unrelenting.

"I know," Harry said in a pained voice. "I always expected to be in horrible trouble, but then he'd give me so many points that Gryffindor would win the house cup instead. It wasn't all that great on my end either, you know. I knew I was resented for it, and it didn't feel particularly good."

"When I spoke with Hermione, one of the things she said about you and your plight, that rang quite true, is that you'd never gotten real parenting. You'd had to make due with your friends' input, and an indulgent old coot who thought the world of you, and who carried a world of guilt over his suspicions of what lay ahead for you," Severus said. His tone was softening now because Harry's emotions were getting the better of him, and the sight was nothing short of heartbreaking. Severus watched tears well up and spill down Harry's cheeks as he continued, "I'm encouraged to hear that you knew you'd overstepped and should have been punished. If it had been up to me, you'd have been walloped on several occasions. And perhaps, if you had been, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."

Harry hated hearing this about himself. Nothing about the incidents at school had been fun or easy for him, and knowing that people saw him as spoiled by Dumbledore upset him in ways that he couldn't begin to define. His mind ran through incidents Severus was likely referring to: the troll, the three headed dog, the basilisk, chasing after Padfoot when he'd dragged Ron under the Whomping Willow, chasing after Padfoot, who was chasing after Wormtail, and being chased by Mooney, the time turner, the flight on Buckbeak…. probably for the gillyweed, definitely for the pensive…

"What's behind your tears right now, Harry?" Severus asked softly.

Harry shook his head and buried his face in his hands, feeling mortified. He'd had no one. _No one,_ but his friends in those days, and had always handled things for himself. He'd never wanted to disappoint any of his professors, including Snape, even if only on principle. He could just imagine how much more horrible he'd have felt if Severus had been allowed to punish him back then. It was nothing short of ironic that the arms that were circling around him _right now_ were from the very person who'd condemned him the most openly during those times. There was a huge disconnect between that vitriol and this level of caring, and he didn't know how to reconcile it in his mind.

"Harry?" Severus asked. He knew he'd hit a sore spot, but didn't know where Harry's thoughts had taken him. He pulled the boy against his chest and slowly rocked him. "Whatever is going on in your head right now, it's in the past, and cannot be undone. I am concerned about you _at this time_, and what you will do with your impulses if faced with a crisis." Harry was not yielding to his embrace, so he continued to rock him and began to rub his back again. After several long minutes, Severus could finally feel the boy relax and lean into him, but the tears had not slowed, and he was not sharing his thoughts.

Harry was utterly overwhelmed with sadness, lost in private memories of being alone with his discomfort about who people thought he was, verses who he really was. He remembered comments from fellow students who naturally assumed he was as loved and adored by the Dursleys as they were by their own parents, and how empty he'd come away feeling. It had taken until second year for Hermione and Ron to really get that he was not wanted by his mum's sister, and even then, they still had no idea how he saw himself as a result. He was only at this moment getting some clarity on that, as Severus Snape blindly comforted him, also having no idea who Harry was, buried way down in this depth of his loneliness. And Severus also had no idea how much he'd reinforced that horrible feeling as the cruel-tongued professor. And look, all these years later, and the man was still seeing him as the impulsive brat who thumbed his nose at the poor, good-hearted adults around him, who simply wanted to care for him. _Right._ Harry _had_ thumbed his nose at them, not because he was arrogant, but because he hadn't trusted any of them, even Dumbledore at times.

"Are you bothered because I threatened you with consequences earlier?" Severus interrupted his thoughts.

He had his cheek resting on Harry's hair, and had completely engulfed Harry within the warm circle of his arms. Harry was still staring into the flames in the fireplace, unable to control his sadness, wishing he was anywhere else but here. He didn't know what to do with Severus' concern. His instincts were telling him to push it away. The only other person who had tried this hard to comfort him was Lucius, and Harry had been able to put significant boundaries up in that regard, simply by physical distance. But Severus was living with him, and there weren't a lot of places to hide secrets from each other here.

The defensive numbness was creeping back, and Harry decided to tell Severus what he wanted to hear. "No, I'm not bothered. I guess you'll keep me in line if I mess up like that again." The words were said dully and his voice was hoarse.

Severus recognized the placation for what it was, and instinct finally kicked in. He reached his forearm under Harry's knees and dragged the teen closer to him, effectively closing the metaphorical distance Harry had just tried to put between them. "You know, you could probably tell me what you're _really_ thinking about, and I'd know exactly what you mean. I am no stranger to being mistreated as a child, both at home and at school. It predisposes a person to have trouble trusting others, and it takes a toll on the way we see ourselves. After all, if our own flesh and blood could so readily dislike us, why shouldn't everyone else?" That did it. Now Harry was clinging to him, burrowing his head into Severus' neck, wracking sobs causing his body to quake. Severus resumed the rocking, his voice tightening with empathy. "Hmmm, let me see, what could you possibly have told yourself as a child that is still with you now? Something about how worthless and stupid you still are? That you should have found better ways to deal with things, so that no one would have been angry, or disappointed in you? That no one _really_ cares?"

More time passed, the only sounds being the crackling of the wood within the flames, and the slowly quieting sobs of the distraught teen.

When Harry was finally cried out, Severus gave him a long squeeze. "You are not stupid, nor are you worthless, and nothing you could ever do would make me see you in that light, Harry," he said. "And the same can be said for every person in your life. You are deeply adored. You are deeply admired. Many want to emulate you. Many _do_ emulate you." His back was straining from the way he was twisting at the waist to hold Harry, so he slowly released him and leaned back into the cushions. He conjured a handkerchief for Harry and the boy mopped his face, blew his nose, and flopped back too as he vanished the used cloth, so Severus draped an arm over his shoulders.

They both sat in silence.

Harry had that feeling again. It was the one he'd had after letting loose on Lucius, the one that was equivalent to dizziness at what had just come out of him. And yet, he'd said nothing this time. Severus had guessed. Severus had said it all for him. Severus _got it._ He understood the part of Harry that Harry himself had never acknowledged out loud. _His inner loser._ And Severus had one too. Harry knew this with absolute certainty because he'd seen it in his former professor's face over tonight's dinner.

"What are you thinking right now?" Severus asked gently.

"I'm thinking I'm not so alone after all," Harry told him. He felt a kiss on the top of his head and smiled slightly. "And neither are you."

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They were both watching the flames.

"Are you going to tell my why you came in here, making threats and smacking me around?" Harry finally said.

Severus chuckled in spite of himself. "I did no such thing," he said, but before Harry could start sparring with him he went on to explain his earlier mindset. "The Lestranges, if they are indeed the ones behind the tampering, are a threat to our safety. Kingsley said there had been a couple of unconfirmed sightings, and as they are the only ones I know of who would have the gall to think they could get past my wards, I take this as confirmation that it's them. We cannot be foolish about our actions in public, Harry. Neither one of them is particularly skilled in the instinctive magic required to dismantle wards, but that does not leave us safe. They are each powerful, and ruthless, and have nothing left to lose. They are alone in their quest, so it's doubtful they'd openly attack in public, or in a situation where backup on our behalf would be readily available. I'll wager the first plan was to try to do a home invasion and abduction. Having failed at that, they will study our habits and find a weakness where we could be caught unaware." He cast a wandless tempus. "It's late to bother Lucius, but I will want to gather with not only him, Narcissa, and Draco, but also your close friends, and Kingsley and Arthur to compare intelligence on the matter as soon as possible."

"Alright," Harry said calmly. "I've got the gang coming over here to have a go at dueling tomorrow after lunch, so we could meet here if it is convenient for our esteemed Ministry officials."

"Good," Severus said. He reached his hand up to card through Harry's hair. "Could you sleep now?"

"Yeah."

"And Harry, about what I said earlier-"

"Ugh, please don't repeat it," Harry begged. "I heard you. I'd rather die than be arse over tea kettle, getting whacked by your fatherly hand, alright? It's not going to happen." He jumped to his feet and scooted around the table as if to get out of Severus' reach.

"Goodnight, Harry," Severus called in amusement from behind him as he darted out of the room.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

The following day did not yield the meeting Severus had hoped for. It did however result in a planned event at Malfoy Manor, which would include opportunities to learn and practice warding on the manor's grounds, as well as a few rounds of dueling for those who wanted to have a try. Severus had been more than a tad alarmed at both Miss Lovegood's and Neville Longbottom's declarations that the existing wards on their family homes had been there for years. Luna added that her father had been reluctant to replace theirs, even after he'd rebuilt over the damage the Death Eaters had done to their home. Her mother had been the original castor, and Xenophilius still considered her waning magic as the final tie to his wife.

Severus and Harry were taking tea at Malfoy Manor, discussing the most practical starting point for teaching Neville and Luna how to ward, and then which in their group could help add layering if Madam Longbottom and Mr. Lovegood were open to the enhancement to their security.

"I've never seen Neville's home," Harry commented. "But Luna has. She's referred to it as a manor, so I've envisioned it to be quite grand."

"It certainly was in its day," Narcissa confirmed.

Severus nodded. "I've been there. Alice and Frank hosted Order meetings early on. It's about half this size. I'm betting Augusta set her wards with the two of them years ago. She had little reason to fear invasion by Voldemort's despots because she has always kept to herself, and kept her silent support of the Light as much under the radar as was possible. Neville could feasibly add a layer to what exits to adequately enhance it."

"It's frustrating that Father and I can't help with this off grounds," Draco griped. "I'm good at warding. I'd like to help."

Lucius nodded his approval and agreement, his expression grim as his own frustration began to surface.

"We are reaping the rewards of our previous actions, gentlemen," Narcissa said in an unusually authoritative tone, "and that will be the end of the complaining. We are Slytherins, are we not? Certainly there must be a way to provide the help we'd like to provide, and still honor our restrictions."

The corner of Lucius' mouth curved up slightly. "Yes, love."

"What about hosting some sort of…. class, or would it be a symposium?" Harry suggested.

The Malfoys looked at each other and then at Harry. "Good idea," they all said in unison.

Severus smirked at Harry, who was on a roll now.

"Yeah, that would be perfect!" Harry enthused. _"This_ is the 'giving back' opportunity that you wanted. Your manor is perfect for teaching both the theory and the practical, and as word gets around that you really know what you're doing, people will be more willing to come over here to attend. And everyone truly will be safer. It'll be great."

"Slow down, Harry," Severus said, although he could see the boy's enthusiasm was contagious. Lucius' eyes had lit up and he'd no doubt started a mental class syllabus in the past thirty seconds. "We have the not-so-minor issue of the Lestranges. I think it would be best to limit the access of guests just yet. You aren't the only one who knows how to Polyjuice himself to gain entry to a restricted building, are you?"

Harry frowned. "Hmmm. Good point."

"But it can be the long term plan," Lucius said. He gave Harry an approving look before turning to Draco. "And you are correct, son, you are excellent at warding."

"Thank you," Draco said with satisfaction.

"So, for this weekend, then," Lucius continued, addressing Harry again, "we will limit the attendance to present company, plus your Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood. Agreed?"

"Agreed."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen - Failure To Thrive - Saturday Duels - Part I

Lucius and Narcissa were waiting in the foyer when Harry stepped through the fireplace.

"Sorry I didn't get here sooner," Harry said. "I ran into some unexpected holdups." The rush of flames from the others arriving sounded behind him as he came forward in the vast entryway to the manor.

"You're fine, darling," Narcissa assured him as she kissed his cheek.

Lucius was contemplating him. "Sir?" Harry asked, not liking the frown on the man's face.

"Come here, Harry," Lucius gestured. Harry stepped over to stand before him and waited with a touch of trepidation. Lucius took his shoulders and pulled him forward into his chest, craning his neck to try to get his chin to rest on Harry's head. "You've grown, lad."

"I know!" Harry said happily. "That's why I was late - I couldn't find any clean trousers that were long enough."

Lucius sighed. "Well… I'm both elated and heartbroken." He gave Harry a warm hug and lay his cheek against the boy's temple. "This will have to do. Well done, Harry."

"What'd he do now?" Draco asked as he approached from the back stairwell.

"He grew," Lucius said proudly, still hugging Harry for a moment longer.

Draco snorted, which made Harry feel self conscious and try to pull away, but Lucius held him fast, which induced an embarrassed groan from the dark haired teen.

"Lucius," Severus greeted formally, leading the rest of the guests over to them.

"Severus," Lucius acknowledged. He finally released Harry as the others came to a stop around Severus. "Welcome," he said as he made eye contact with each of the younger guests. "Miss Granger, a pleasure," he took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze as he bowed over it. She smiled tightly at him, which he found regrettable, but unsurprising. "Miss Lovegood," he moved on to each of the others. "Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Weasley."

"Hello, sir," they each greeted in return, and then moved on to polite handshakes with Draco and Narcissa.

"Welcome to the _new_ Malfoy Manor," Narcissa said with a tone that told them all that she knew the Malfoys had a lot to prove before the day was over. She approached Hermione and Luna. "Ladies, if you're ready, I'd like to walk you through the house personally. I realize it took a lot for you to join us today."

Hermione cast a glance at Luna, who was watching Narcissa with a slight tilt to her head. "I was always curious about your decor, Mrs. Malfoy," she said in her frilly, singsong voice that was so loaded with insight, yet so deceptively weightless. "You've lived with dark implements and artifacts that really do not reflect who you are."

Narcissa's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Merlin knows I played my part in coming off as a worshipper of the dark. I'm impressed and relieved to hear that you could see beyond that, when I myself had lost sight of it."

"Well anyway, it wasn't as if you would have been free to redecorate, was it? Not until Harry took care of your unwanted guest, that is." Luna asked brightly.

Hermione smiled to herself. "Lead on, Madam Malfoy," she said firmly. She was _ready_ to do this.

"Please, let's dispense with formalities? Call me Narcissa," the lady of the manor said as she looped an arm through each of theirs and glided towards the vast interior with them, ahead of the men.

Severus caught Hermione's eye as she shot a last minute unsettled glance back to her Golden Trio counterparts. The boys were still working through the pleasantries with Lucius, establishing the first name basis with him as well. Severus gave her a nod of reassurance, which she seemed to use to muster the courage she needed to continue, and was out of sight a moment later.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

When they had emerged onto the grounds behind the manor, the group had divided into two. Ron and Hermione had been distracted by the intricacy of the decorative transfiguration charms Narcissa had described during the tour and the three of them were currently having an animated discussion upstairs. Lucius led the others to the open area in front of the pond.

"I thought it might be advisable to demonstrate some variations on warding for each of you," he began, addressing Neville and Luna. "Warding can be very generic, or intensely personal. The strength of the ward can be enhanced by complexity, but the strength of the wizard or witch who generates it also plays a role." He withdrew his wand from his sleeve. "We were all taught in our sixth years at Hogwarts a rudimentary form of warding over our possessions, and that is the foundational basis to build upon. _Protego totalum."_ His magic was visible as it formed a transparent arc over them that hovered about three feet overhead. "I have come to think of warding as laying a blanket over the zone I want to protect. Now, with that in mind, I cast my additional spells with careful control so that I can literally weave them in with the _protego."_

He cast a _salvio hexia,_ a _repello muggletum_, a r_epello tempestas_, and _repello aggressio._ Those gathered watched the way he gently swept his wand to guide the glaze-like protective charms upward, where he skillfully integrated them in with the original _protego totalum. _When the weaving was complete, he again used his wand to stretch the wards into a larger 'blanket' that reached far out and around the area in which they stood.

"Now, whomever has contributed to the warding has left a personal magical signature in the protection, that he or she can always sense, when coming in close contact with the magic," Lucius explained. "Warding can become more personal and more intricate, to the extent that your senses will tell you when it's been tampered with. When you combine the magic of several trusted wizards and witches, the strength increases exponentially. Many of you were present when additional warding was created for Hogwarts before the battle last year. The only reason that the additional magic failed to hold was that it hadn't yet completely enveloped the grounds, and the gaps were what was breached." He looked around at them. "Questions?"

"Is it typical that one's wards can be sensed by someone who did not cast them?" Luna asked.

Lucius shot a look at Severus before answering with a genuine smile of appreciation. "It is indeed a sign of tremendous magical talent, Miss Lovegood. Have you sensed the magic here on the grounds?"

"Oh yes," Luna said, "but I'd hardly call it a talent. I'm just sensitive that way."

"You're always a mile ahead of the rest of us, aren't you, Lovegood?" Draco said with a crooked smile. "And here I was, impressed with myself for feeling my own magic."

"Well, it's not that unusual, is it? I've certainly heard Headmistress McGonagall speak of her sensing the magic around the school," Luna chimed back with a light smile for Draco.

"Yes, but she's extremely powerful, Luna," Neville said with an indulgent laugh. "And obviously so are you." He grinned at the airy blonde for along moment before turning his attention back to Lucius. "I'm confident I can recreate what you've just done sir, after some practice, of course. But what I'd like to know how to do is something I heard Harry say he'd done at his place. I'd like to set a ward that repels anyone who is not trustworthy, and to alert me when certain types of visitors arrive on the grounds."

"Excellent," Lucius praised. "If you each would to take a moment to summarize the protections you'd like to invoke in your wards, I'm certain that between the lot of us, we can compose an appropriate recipe of security for both of your residences."

"Hermione just brought up an interesting thought," Narcissa said as she approached them with Ron and Hermione in tow. "Should one consider the details of magically enhanced interiors when applying ones wards?"

"Well, we did alright with warding around the tent we had," Harry remarked. "I guess we just warded the entire patch of land, which encompassed the expanded interior of tent, the trees, some dirt…"

Draco snickered at him.

"But we were thinking about how to ward our homes if we magically expand some rooms. Like what Ron and George are doing in flat over the shop," Hermione said. "Apparently, standard practice works fine, as they've had no problems. But, could the wards be even more secure if that was factored in?"

"I'm quite certain that they could," Lucius said thoughtfully.

"Weasley," Draco said to Ron, a tiny nervous edge beneath his drawl, "if you haven't yet applied the expansion charm, I'd really like to see how it's done."

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, sure, Malfoy. I'm actually going to be learning it as well. The Headmistress promised to come to the shop Monday evening to show George and me how it's done. I'll owl you with the time, shall I?"

"Yeah, thanks," Draco said with a genuine smile.

"As for warding," Lucius drew their attention back to the previous discussion, "Luna, and Neville, if you would like to set a time to return here in the next few days, we could practice the spell combinations you'd like. It will then be up to you to decide who to employ to help you cast them. Would that be acceptable?"

"Oh, yes," Luna said with her soft smile. She looked around the grounds. "Is this where the dueling is going to be played out?"

"Indeed it is, my dear," Lucius told her with a small bow. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said as he pointed to the two low wooden platforms placed on opposite ends of the field that lay between them and the pond, "You will see before you the starting places upon which each contestant will be standing when the confrontation begins. The match will be concluded when one of the opponents succeeds in earning ten points - a point for each spell that makes contact. An instant win will also be awarded to the wizard or witch who successfully throws his opponent off his, or her, feet. We will use gentle force to achieve such an end, of course. And now, let the games begin! I designate Severus as our standing champion until one of you can prove me wrong."

"Who will be first to challenge me?" Severus asked. He looked at Harry, who crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Longbottom? Care to have a go?"

"This will likely be quick," Neville announced brightly as he walked out to his starting spot.

Two hilarious minutes later, Neville walked grumpily away from the match with a losing score and a wardrobe of transfigured clothing that included chaps, dusty brown jeans, cowboy boots with spurs, checkered shirt, and a cowboy hat. "Thanks for the new look, Severus," he called out sarcastically over everyone's laughter.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

The magic was flying back and forth, both Severus and Harry furiously casting and blocking until Harry's spell got past Severus' shield. The blur of spells and wands came to a sudden halt at the sight of the fluffy mask of shaving foam over Severus' face and the large cone of it crowning his head.

"You _did not _just do that, Potter," Severus barked, spraying foam away from his face just before the roar of raucous laughter broke out from the sideline. It took all of the self control he could muster not to join in the laughter. Harry was nearly doubled over with his own giggles and leaving himself wide open for retaliation. A quick flick of his wand and Severus had Harry's shirt pulled up over his head, trapping his arms in a twist, while he sent tickling jinxes at his torso until the boy collapsed to the ground in hysterical laughter and curled into a protective ball.

_"Sev-er-us!"_ Lucius warned, but he was smiling too. He strode over to Harry and pulled the breathless boy to his feet as Severus cancelled the spell binding his arms. Harry's face was flushed with hilarity as he straightened out his shirt. Lucius turned the teen towards the rest of his friends and gave him a light swat on the backside, sending him back toward the others. "The match goes to Severus again, I'm afraid. You let down your guard, Harry. Mr. Weasley! I believe you're next!"

Harry trotted over to the others, flashing a grin at Severus. The older wizard scowled at him as he performed a scourgify on himself and cancelled the charm that had turned his corduroys into pink satin leggings.

"That was excellent, Harry," Ron muttered as they passed.

"I heard that, Weasley," Severus growled.

"Bugger," Ron muttered again.

"And that." Severus was amused to hear Hermione's laughter clearly above the others as he watched Ronald Weasley work his way over to the platform. He distractedly wondered how he'd fare in a duel against the young witch. He now knew, in all certainty, that the Golden Trio had prevailed over Voldemort _as much_ on their skill as on their sheer dumb luck. Harry was a formidable opponent due to his fantastic reflexes and survival instinct. Severus could only get the upper hand when the boy fell into fits of laughter, which fortunately was more often than not. He warned himself not to assume that Weasley would be any less capable.

"Gentlemen," Lucius directed. "Bow to your opponent and raise your wands."

Severus and Ronald took their positions, and at the spark from Lucius' wand, their duel began. Ronald fired off a body binding hex first thing, which Severus easily countered. Next Ronald sent a jelly legs, followed by a knee bender, followed by a hex of his own creation that looked and sounded like an angry swarm of bees was circling its target's head. Severus deflected, deflected, deflected, all with a lazy flick of his wand. He nearly opened his mouth to taunt the younger man for his lack of strategy but quickly shut it when Ronald suddenly changed tactics. The younger wizard stepped off the platform and strolled slowly in an arc, as if he was making a circle around Severus. The former defense professor watched him warily, but with abject curiosity. Just to keep the younger wizard alert, he sent a series of jinxes to switch Ron's shoes to the wrong feet and magic his trousers and shirt backwards, but the ginger-haired wizard threw up concise shields, successfully blocking both spells. Severus inclined his head in acknowledgement and Ronald's face split into a grin, which grew wider as he deflected three more of the same jinxes Severus sent his way in the hopes that he would have been distracted by the silent praise.

"He's on to you, Severus," Narcissa called to him.

"Or so he thinks," Severus said. He fired off a dozen well aimed pinching and poking hexes and managed to get one past Ronald's shield.

"Ahhh!" Ronald complained, rubbing his cheek. "What do you call that hex? The _Auntie Mildred?"_

Severus laughed along with their audience, but kept his concentration. As the redhead began to fire off another series of jinxes at him, Severus, deflected and cast as quickly as he could. He scored eight direct contacts that were worth a point each before Weasley sent a spell that caused the platform to soften beneath Severus and slide to the left, nearly succeeding in knocking him off his feet. Nearly. He hopped quickly to the right and got onto solid ground, letting his jaw drop comically. "You little-"

"Uh oh!" Ronald yelped, side-stepping several more paces in the circle he was walking. He had the old nervous look on his face, the one he'd worn before his first match on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He danced through the onslaught of snowballs, water splashes and tripping hexes that Severus sent, deflecting them all until Severus sent his own ground-altering hex that pulled the strip of grass from beneath the young wizard's feet, toppling him onto his backside with a grunt of defeat.

"Booooooo!" Harry complained from the sidelines, smirking at Severus' scowl.

Severus jogged over to Ronald to give him a hand up and clap him on the shoulder. "Well done, Weasley. I was beginning to fret that I might lose this round."

"Thanks, sir."

By then Harry and Neville had joined them. "You'll win soon enough, Ron," Harry said with full confidence. He shot an apologetic look at Severus. "Sorry, sir, but it's inevitable. And Neville's not far behind."

"Hmmmm."

"Well, they are the future, Severus," Lucius said as he approached. "Well done, Ronald. You're a strategist, I can see. We must duel together soon." At the sight of Ron's rapidly paling complexion, Lucius hastily added, "At your discretion, of course. In the meantime, Harry, you've avoided this long enough, young man. We will have our match, right now." Now Harry was paling. Lucius sighed dramatically. "I just watched you nearly get the best of Severus. I am not entirely confident that I _can win_ with _any_ of you. But I do indeed wish to try."

"You can't win on charm, Lucius," Narcissa chided from where she still stood on the sideline.

Lucius smiled at her. "What about you, love? Care for a go? That is, if the reigning champion will step aside for a round?" He eyed Severus, who bowed and stretched arm in invitation for Lucius to take his place.

"Not today, darling," Narcissa called to him. "I know when I'm at a disadvantage."

"I'll duel with you, Lucius," Hermione announced from the crowd.

Lucius looked exceedingly pleased until a thought occurred to him. "You're not the _vindictive_ type, are you, Miss Granger?" he asked with more uncertainty than he'd intended to reveal.

Hermione smiled sweetly. "Actually I am, but not in the way you think. And you agreed to call me 'Hermione.'" She headed out to the platform Severus had stood upon. By the time she'd reached it, the others had cleared back to the spectator area.

Lucius cast a glance at them all, wondering if he should be expecting to feel pain, or possibly to lose blood in this duel. Severus was watching Hermione with an appreciation that Lucius knew was indicative of a deeper level of interest. She was exactly his type, after all. Harry had a satisfied smirk on his face, as if he knew exactly what was about to occur. Ronald also had a smirk. Luna and Neville simply looked impressed with their friend. Draco was unreadable. He cleared his throat and bowed low to his young opponent.

Hermione bowed as well and raised her wand.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

Harry had never seen Lucius in action in this context. Severus had said he was tactical rather than playful, and that had made Harry resist a battle of wands with him thus far. But Hermione had her own brand of courage and much of it was driven by her thirst for knowledge. She wanted to learn from Lucius Malfoy because he was a notoriously powerful wizard. Period. Harry knew her well enough to know she wanted to win this duel, but would be happy if she came away with some knew information. He watched his best friend confidently cast the first spell.

Hermione began by sending her flock of yellow canaries at Lucius, studying his responding shield carefully. Lucius' magic arched protectively over his head like a dome and was briefly visible to the naked eye. Next, she wove her wand in a rapid, intricate pattern that produced a rain cloud which she sent his way, again watching as he flicked his wand, causing a rush of wind to blow it back and away from them both. The cloud began to rain heavily over the pond. Harry was briefly distracted by the sight until his pseudo guardian waved his left hand over his head while thrusting his wand toward Hermione. The result was a gale force wind that swept around her, beginning to swirl until she appeared to be engulfed in a small tornado. Lucius raised his wand, tugging the cylinder of dusty wind, and Hermione within it, toward him.

Hermione was not visible to her audience, but she could see her surroundings through the funnel that she was caught in. She was limited in what she could do, so she aimed her wand at the rain cloud and drew it closer until it hovered over Lucius. She swished the wand again in circular motion that caused a loud clap of thunder right over Lucius' head, startling him and nearly breaking his concentration. She next turned the rain to hail and succeeded in distracting him enough to escape the funnel, only just in time to watch him blast the cloud with a gentle _poof _into rose petals, which he swirled into another funnel, already sending it back her way. Hermione conjured a giant net and caught the petals within it. She banished the net and they faced each other once more. She studied the blond wizard and realized that she was enjoying herself.

Lucius wondered what was going on in her head. He had no desire to lose this first duel to her, so he took the opportunity to cast the most distracting charm that came to mind, the one that caused the blades of grass around Hermione's feet to grow rapidly in height until they were several feet high, then wave themselves around her as if attempting to block any spell she may cast. Hermione frowned at the weaving green blades for a moment, but quickly saw that they would not truly impede her next spell. A garden gnome caught her eye and in the flash of an instant, she'd summoned it with a silent _accio _until it was in front of her and facing Lucius. She quickly applied a very strong _engorgio_, forcing it to grow until it was nearly as tall as she, then sent a mudsplashing hex at it that completely covered it with mud. The rest of the scene sort of played itself out without her help.

By then, Lucius had sheared the blades of his dancing grasses from their bases and woven them into a large broom that proceeded to dance around Hermione, in vast, whisking circles.

Hermione sensed he'd gotten the upper hand by now, but the expression on his face was priceless as the gnome approached him, tottering with arms outstretched like it was after a hug, making odd groaning and grunting sounds as it dripped massive globs of muds in its wake. Hermione began to laugh, her focus weakening as she succumbed to hysterical giggles, watching as Lucius tried to avoid the affectionate advances of the muddy gnome, but of course _he_ never lost focus on his spellwork. Within a matter of seconds, the massive broom succeeded in literally sweeping Hermione off her feet.

In spite of the gnome, Lucius didn't let her fall hard, directing the broom to cushion her weight as she went ever so softly down. He darted around the garden creature with a grimace, rushed over to her and pulled her up by both hands.

"Bravo, Hermione," Lucius praised with genuine approval. He squeezed her hands for a moment before releasing them. "You and your younger set certainly are wondrously creative with your magic. It was a pleasure to engage with you." He darted a look over his shoulder at the bumbling gnome. "And perhaps you could cancel your spells?" He asked with comical angst.

"Thank you," She responded, still laughing as she flicked her wand, shrinking the gnome back down to normal size. "I quite enjoyed that. Although you do yourself a disservice by crediting our generation with creativity, as if you have none of your own."

Lucius bowed at her praise. But he was distracted by the small creature that had turned to run towards the pond.

"I'll handle that for you sir," Ron said, jogging over to grab the gnome and fling it way, way out of sight. He jogged back to the gathering crowd.

"I told you it was fun," Harry said, bumping his hip into Hermione's and grinning.

"Yes. I was a _tad_ apprehensive," she admitted. "I hadn't thought I could compete with your madcapped spell casting."

"The hexes and jinxes we throw around are indeed silly, but it is still a challenge to deflect them," Severus pointed out.

"Oh, I know, Severus," Hermione told him with a self-deprecating smirk. "I'm just not as good-natured about having my clothes transformed or my hair mussed as the rest of you have been."

"Lucius had you in a tornado!" Ron exclaimed. "Nothing's more likely to wreck your hair than _that_ ." But then he stopped and narrowed his eyes. "You fixed it while you were out of sight, didn't you?"

"Of course," Hermione said loftily. "I've had all of the bad hair days I ever intend to have."

Harry grinned at her, then turned to Severus. "Let's see who's the better between you and Lucius then," he suggested.

Severus inclined his head, eyebrows raised in inquiry to Lucius, who returned the gesture.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen - Failure To Thrive - Saturday Duels - Part II

The two senior wizards bowed and began firing spells as soon as etiquette allowed. Their audience watched with mouths gaping open, as every one of the earth's elements was conjured in some form or another to create obstacles, while each wizard sought to land hexes on his opponent and score points. They were at an even seven-to-seven, Severus had just successfully gotten Lucius with his ankle-biter hex that had had the blond wizard hopping and hissing at the annoying pain. Lucius had successfully shorn off the hair on Severus' crown, leaving him with a bald spot that gleamed in the bright sunlight. And though the youngsters were finding it highly entertaining, it wasn't the kind of competition that Lucius preferred. He tried to force Severus to employ broader talents by throwing up walls of flame and ice, but Severus kept retaliating with massive _aguamenti's_ to simultaneously put out the flames and thoroughly drench Lucius, or to cast a melting charm that succeeded in wilting not only the ice barrier but Lucius' nicely starched trousers and waistcoat. He looked positively ruffled and put out at this point. And now Severus was one point shy of winning.

Severus couldn't help but respond to the lively reactions from their young audience, especially Harry and Draco, who knew exactly how tormented Lucius was by Severus' playful engagement. He gave in to impulse and employed his most despicable jinx, which he'd coined _the extensive belching hex_. It got past Lucius' shield and the blond wizard knew immediately what he'd been hit with. He glared at Severus as if to say, _cancel that spell immediately,_ but Severus simply gave him an innocent look.

Lucius opened his mouth without thinking and a harsh, vibrating, and intensely amplified belch came out, instead of the comment he'd intended, which would have acknowledged the match had gone to Severus.

There was a potent silence.

"Merlin help us," Narcissa sputtered, and retreated to the house.

Howls of laughter erupted as the shock wore off and the comedy of the scenario sank in.

"YOU WILL PAY, SEV-ER-US!" Lucius belched out, slowly stalking towards them all.

Severus burst into laughter that had him gripping his stomach, as he made his way over to join the group and wait for Lucius. Lucius kept trying to say something, but the belches overpowered him, and that just fed into the hilarity. Harry and Draco were draping their arms around each other for support, wiping their eyes and struggling to breathe. Lucius glared at them, to no avail. He resorted to pointing at them in warning and sent a series of the infamous smacking hexes their way.

Harry shot up the _open void_ charm and saved himself and Draco from Lucius' wrath. Everyone went silent. Severus canceled the belching hex and gave Harry a small, secret smile of approval.

"Harry, what was that charm?" Draco asked in shock.

"I'd forgotten about that, mate. Right handy that is." Ron said.

"Uh, it's s-something I d-do on impulse," Harry stuttered, knowing he simply could not explain the magic he employed. "It's a silent one, and I can do it wandless, too."

"What are you thinking as you cast it?" Neville wanted to know.

"Uh, well, I'm visualizing it, not really thinking anything other than, _'Uh oh!'"_ Harry said.

Everyone laughed again.

By now, Lucius had joined them. He'd cast a freshening charm on himself, but still looked a bit wrung out. "I am completely out of my league with you lot," he said sadly. Then he narrowed his eyes at Severus. "Did you know about that charm of Harry's?" he asked.

Severus inclined his head. "I did. I advised him to pick his moment to show it to you."

"Well, that you did, my lad. That you did."

"Dinner is served!" Narcissa called from over by the shady trees the family always picnicked beneath.

Lucius turned to Luna. "My dear, you did not get to duel. Did you want to? We can resume after dinner, of course."

"I'd rather not, thank you, sir," Luna said. Her voice was missing its light quality when she continued. "In fact, I'm feeling like I should go. You see, the idea of drawing a wand on you in your home reminded me that I haven't considered what Daddy would think of my being here today. He suffered horribly while I was missing…" She seemed to reclaim herself after that. "It's been lovely, but I think I'll head home now."

"Alright, Luna," Lucius said softly. "May I show you to the nearest floo? It's just beyond that doorway over there."

"I'll go with her, Father," Draco said. "I have to leave to meet Naomi now, anyway."

"Thank you, Draco," Luna said. She quickly turned to Narcissa who was joining them and took her hand. "I enjoyed seeing your home, Narcissa." To Lucius, she said, "Perhaps you shouldn't dismiss your disquiet about that gnome, sir."

She gave the others a wave and walked away with Draco, leaving Lucius frowning in thought.

"Think she's alright?" Neville worried.

"No, actually," Harry said honestly, watching her walk away. He gave his friend a knowing look. "I could go after her, but if you'd rather-"

"Yeah," Neville said, his eyes never leaving Luna. "I'll just make sure she's home safely. Maybe she'll want to talk a bit." Neville said. He apologized to Narcissa, vigorously shook Lucius' hand and thanked him for the excellent day, said hasty goodbyes to his friends and Severus, and made his way after Luna, who had already gone inside with Draco.

Lucius' eyes settled immediately on Hermione. "I'm under no illusions of what you have had to set aside, in order to be here," he told her.

Hermione nodded her agreement. "I'm holding up just fine, so far, sir." She watched the open battle of regrets on his face thoughtfully. "Honestly, I don't even recognize the manor. It feels like an entirely new place to me. It did to Luna as well. She told me so."

Narcissa intervened again, taking her husband's hand. "Come, let's sit down to eat."

ooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Everything smells heavenly, Narcissa." Hermione said when they'd all been served a full plate of food. Narcissa smiled her thanks to Hermione, but she was openly rattled by Luna's abrupt departure. Lucius was still a bit tense as well. Hermione looked at Harry, who was clearly worrying about them. Ron was watching Harry, too. Severus was watching her, and she could not read what was behind his eyes. She decided to go ahead and pursue the subject of their recent pasts. It was time. "I never knew how much our friendship mattered to Luna until we went to visit her father during our quest. We thought he might have some information for us about a symbol we kept seeing as we followed clues from Dumbledore. He had us in, gave us tea, told us a story that helped us quite a bit, all the while letting us believe Luna was just away having a look for one of those besotted creatures the two of them worship so fondly. He showed us her room then…"

"The mural," Harry said. "It was all of us: Me, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Neville, from our stint at the Ministry. It was beautiful."

"Her _friends,"_ Ron added. "She'd painted us on her ceiling. It was a great painting."

"Her father thought _the Ministry_ was holding her as punishment for what he'd printed in the Quibbler, and who was it? Selwyn and another Death Eater showed up then, and we heard Mr. Lovegood tell them I was upstairs and beg them to release Luna. He'd summoned them by saying Voldemort-," Harry added, but faltered as all of the memories rushed to the surface.

"They blew a hole in the house while we were upstairs in Luna's room," Ron continued. "Harry was trapped under the rubble," he paused for effect. Everyone had tensed at his retelling. "But Hermione had a plan. She blasted away the floor beneath us, side-along apparated the three of us as we fell to what should have been our deaths, while simultaneously revealing Harry to the Death Eaters and _obliviating_ Lovegood so that he couldn't reveal what we'd discussed. Saved Luna's dad, she did, as much as she saved us. She's brilliant." He smiled at Hermione. "You're brilliant, you know."

"Then we got caught by the snatchers and ended up here," Harry picked up the story. He looked at the faces of their hosts, and at Severus. They were all tense, but giving their full attention. Severus' eyes were reddening around the edges, and his complexion had gone pasty. "And Luna was here." He stopped there, feeling too tense himself to go any further.

Hermione instinctively knew that they should continue, so she took it from there. "All we knew at that point was that there were horcruxes that had to be destroyed. Dumbledore had told Harry that the diary he'd stabbed with the basilisk fang in the Chamber of Secrets had been the first. We knew about the ring that had cursed Dumbledore, and knew that it had been the property of one of Riddle's ancestors. The next one was the Slytherin locket, which we'd had to take from Umbridge when we broke into the Ministry again-"

"Ahh, so that's what you'd been up to! I could not fathom-" Severus said sharply, but seemed to catch himself. He steepled his fingers and pressed his chin against them. "Apologies, Hermione, please continue."

"Not at all," she responded meaningfully. "There is so much to tell, it's hard to know what to include."

Lucius was rubbing his jaw with a shaky hand, his eyes first on Ron, then on Harry. "It was a horcrux? The diary?"

"Yeah," Harry whispered.

"They are a bloody menace to destroy," Ron added, not apologizing for his language, and no one seemed to care. "We were thinking that only the sword of Gryffindor would kill them, since we'd already used it on the locket by that point. We didn't even know what the other horcruxes were. We suspected his snake, and figured on some other Hogwarts heirlooms, but didn't know how many there were altogether. Hermione had a feeling Helga Hufflepuff's chalice could be one, what with her ever-present copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ to reference on the matter."

"Yes, Ron," Hermione feigned annoyance. "And you've _still_ not read it, have you?"

The senior wizards watched the Golden Trio exchange amused smirks with each other, marveling to some degree at the easy banter among them. "That's why you went to Gringotts?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed. She blinked a couple of times as she cast her eyes down on her inner forearm, where the scar still discolored her smooth skin. _Mudblood. _"I am vindictive," she said, eyes on Lucius. "But only in the most constructive ways. We could only assume that Voldemort had trusted Bellatrix with one of the horcruxes. The most logical place to keep it safe was her vault."

"And you had the aid of a goblin," Severus added in amazement. "Only the three of you could befriend one of them."

"Oh, there was a price to pay," Harry said. "We had to promise him the sword."

"But Dumbledore had always told us it came to a Gryffindor in need, so we took the chance of releasing it to him with the hopes that when we needed it next, it would be there." Ron inserted.

"And then you flew away on a dragon," Severus concluded ironically. He was probably envious of that particular adventure, since he simply could not let it go.

"We're pretty sure she didn't even know we were along for the ride," Harry told him. "We had to drop off into a lake and swim for shore to get off of her."

The Malfoys and Severus simply stared at them, utterly speechless. "But you found the cup," Lucius said. He'd heard pieces of this story from Harry over the past year, but never fully told in this way.

"Yes," Hermione continued. "We brought it to Hogwarts with us. We thought it likely that there was a Ravenclaw heirloom to find there as well. Luna suggested the Ravenclaw diadem, and we all separated to find it. That was when Ron remembered that Harry had destroyed the diary with a basilisk fang and we realized that the poison contained in them was strong enough to use on the cup. We took the cup down there with us." She grinned proudly at Ron. "Ron spoke parseltongue by impersonating his memory of Harry opening the Chamber with Lockheart in second year. We found the carcass still there, fairly intact, and pulled several teeth to take with us after we successfully destroyed the cup."

"In the meantime," Harry picked up the story again. "I'd remembered seeing a tiara in the Room of Requirement, so I went to see if I could find it again. That was when Draco showed up with Crabbe and Goyle. Never a dull moment," he snarked. He seemed to remember who he was recapping the story to, and found Draco's parents looking quite pained at this part of the tale. "He needed his wand back. I can't blame him, but since mine had gotten broken when Bathilda Bagshot turned out to be Nagini in Godrick's Hollow-"

_"What?"_ Severus demanded, unable to hold in his own agitation, and the redness deepened on the rims of his eyes.

"That had been back at Christmas when we'd found the Potters' grave," Hermione told him. She looked over at Harry, who gulped and shut his mouth as if continuing was impossible. "Draco needed his wand," she continued again, "and he'd followed Harry into the Room of Requirement. Unfortunately, he had no idea what his interference was costing us all, as the minutes ticked away. We dueled and Crabbe sent a Fiendfyre curse at Ron, setting the entire place aflame. We were lucky to have grabbed the diadem at the last minute-"

"And our son is lucky that you were willing to grab him as well," Narcissa added. She was looking at each of them with concern and gratitude.

"Draco watched his best friend die in that mess," Harry said. "There was nothing good about any of it, other than the fact that the fire destroyed the diadem."

"Did you feel anything when the horcruxes were destroyed, Harry?" Severus asked in a rough voice.

Harry held his gaze as he recalled the eerie feeling of loss that had shot through him. "Yeah. I felt a weird sensation first, then Voldemort's shock, as he realized what was going on. He knew each time we killed one. He became more and more manic with each loss. I think it was right about then that he decided you had to die, sir."

"You felt that, too?"

Harry nodded. He looked at all of the faces in this unlikely social circle and realized he was finally releasing some of the terror by telling this story. "At that point, we thought the snake was the last one. Then you gave me your memories."

Lucius waved his wand and a tray with a large decanter of Old Ogden's Finest, a bucket of ice, and six glasses appeared. "The ice is for the modest drinkers," he announced as he poured generous quantities into each glass.

Hermione and Narcissa added several cubes to theirs, and after a moment, so did Harry. He looked around at them all again, but no one was looking back. They had all retreated into their own thoughts. He raised his glass and said quietly, "To new beginnings."

The others responded readily by clinking their classes and sipping the brown liquid slowly. But the silence continued for a while.

"The one year anniversary is next week. Are you going to speak at the memorial this year, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Uh, well, I know you think I should. But there's a problem with my speaking, Hermione," Harry started. "You see, all I can think about is how pointless it all was. I mean, look at this group, right here, right now. Look what it took for us to overcome all of that nonsense! What a bloody waste of time!"

"And why can you not speak of that, Harry?" Lucius said quietly.

"Because… I don't think I _can_ without all of the anger coming through," Harry answered honestly.

"Surely you don't think you're the only one with anger?" Severus asked.

Harry bit his lip. "I don't think I'd do well."

"You're eighteen years old, son. You're not supposed to be an accomplished public speaker," Lucius told him. "It's not as if you've had time to practice."

Harry sighed and looked over at Ron, who sat across from him, next to Severus.

"I've never pretended to be articulate," Ron said, in his best Severus impersonation.

Severus shot him a frown, but the others laughed and the tension broke.

"I think you should speak, Harry," Hermione told him. "Just be yourself. You will be well received. You always are."

Harry snorted. "You say that as if I've given so many speeches."

"I remember the way you spoke to the DA members, especially that first time when you told us all quite frankly what was really happening in the world around us. You're devastatingly humble, Harry. People trust you implicitly when they have the chance to see you in the flesh." Harry opened his mouth to contradict her. "No, that was the _Prophet's_ lies that they were believing." She correctly guessed his rebuttal. She took his left hand and turned it over so that they could all see the _I must not tell lies_ scar that still resided on his skin. "Once you started openly challenging Umbridge, they all knew they could trust you."

Severus frowned and reached over to grasp Harry's hand to have a long look at it. "I never asked you why you walked around with that rag tied around your hand," he said regretfully. He looked at Hermione. "You looked after him, I assume."

Harry smiled. "She always did. Essence of Murtlap, and Dittany. Helped a lot."

"It hurt him constantly," Hermione corrected. She frowned at Harry when he again tried to deny her claim. "There's no point in down-playing it now, Harry. Nor should you deny those painful headaches that plagued you after Occlumency with Severus. Fifth year was horrible."

Harry was angry now. He'd not intended to discuss either of these events any time soon, not with Lucius or Severus. A voice in his head told him he'd later thank Hermione, but for the moment he wanted to strangle her. He settled for a hostile glare instead.

She withered slightly, but held her ground. "If you think about it, Harry, you've been stuck in your physical embodiment of that time the longest. There's a lot of hardship to just _let out._ You've had a significant growth spurt haven't you? Can't you see why that is?"

Harry jumped to his feet and left the table.

"I'm sorry," Hermione told the others. "I did that on purpose. I hope it hasn't backfired on me."

Ron stood. "I'll go after him." They all heard the angry _crack_ as Harry disapparated away. "Thank you, Narcissa and Lucius. This has been… _good."_ He nodded to Severus and turned to run after Harry.

Hermione and Severus helped to levitate the dishes and tableware inside while Lucius and Narcissa cast cleaning charms on the mess in the kitchen. They were through with the task in short order.

"Overall, the day turned out better than I'd hoped. But I am worried about Miss Lovegood, and Harry," Lucius said as they stood facing each other. "Harry will come around, but I do not know about Luna."

"I'm the one who will have to face off with Harry," Hermione said. "I've been biting my tongue for a while, and knew I'd likely set off his temper when I finally said my piece. I apologize to you all for the timing."

"Don't be silly," Lucius said, smirking slightly. "I am grateful to you for interjecting what you did. It could have taken months for Harry to come forth with these facts. I think he's more ready to deal with it than he's giving himself credit for."

"I do too," Severus said, he held her gaze for a long moment.

"Will you come back soon, Hermione?" Narcissa asked. "We'd love to have you again."

"Certainly. I'd like that." She glanced at Lucius to include him as she added, "And, as I'm on the library committee for Hogwarts, I believe you've offered books from your collection to restock the school. Perhaps sometime soon I can begin reviewing the volumes in your library?"

"Absolutely," Lucius confirmed with a smile.

"I believe I will take my leave," Severus announced. He turned to Hermione. "Will you return home via Grimmauld Place?" Hermione had limited her floo network access at her flat for safety to Grimmauld Place and Hogwarts.

"Yes, and if Harry is there, I'll try to patch things up." She turned to the Malfoys. "I think we should plan another event as soon as possible, and I'll have a go at convincing Luna to return. Neville definitely will. It really was a lot of fun."

"Wonderful," Lucius and Narcissa said together.

ooOooOooOooOooOoo

Harry emerged from the floo in the manor's entryway and was startled to see that Draco had literally just emerged in front of him. "Whoa!" he yelled. "That was close!"

Draco shot an amused look at him over his shoulder. "Calm down, Mini-Harry, all is well."

"But, what do you suppose would happen if we were to actually arrive simultaneously?" Harry asked, jogging a few steps to catch up and walk beside Draco.

"Obliteration, of course," Draco said in his lofty tone. "Being a wizard is a high risk affair, Potter."

Harry snorted in frustration. He actually wanted to know the answer to his question. _I'll just have Hermione find out for me. She owes me._ "So, Romeo, I would like to believe that this Naomi of yours actually exists, but since I've yet to lay eyes on her…"

"Oh, she exists, little man," Draco said condescendingly. "I would normally have spent the night with her, but as her parents are staying in her flat, we decided not to force a discussion about propriety, you see."

"Ah," Harry said, thinking that he'd definitely have the same issues with Ginny if _any_ Weasley was in the vicinity. _One day…_ "Well, where do your parents stand on that then?"

"You're kidding, aren't you?" Draco snickered. "My parents have the love affair of the century. They'd want exactly the same for me. I couldn't bring Naomi here until we are ready to be open with our commitment."

"So, you don't think you can compete then?" Harry asked innocently.

Draco scowled at him, ignoring his teasing smile. "I think she's _the one_, Harry. I just want to be sure she see's me in the same light. She knows about my past. Where I've been and what I've done. A year of better behavior is a good start, but it's not enough to prove I've changed, is all."

Harry clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder. They walked in silence for a few more steps until they were within earshot of Lucius and Narcissa, who were in the conservatory sharing a brandy. "So, Draco, about your choice of footwear," Harry started.

"I'm not taking fashion advice from you, Scarhead, so just give it a rest."

Harry chuckled as they entered the conservatory. He addressed all of the Malfoys with his next question, "Well, since I've clearly grown, I'm in the need of some new clothes. Do you think Draco and I could safely go pick up some things sometime during the week? Or would that be a safety risk?"

"Hello to you as well, Mr. Potter," Lucius scolded.

"Oh, sorry," Harry said quickly. "And I'm sorry for bugging out of here in a right snit earlier. I was going to lose it, and-"

"It's alright, Harry," Narcissa told him. "We understand. Thank you for coming back to let us see for ourselves that you are recovered."

Harry assessed her, not completely convinced he was in the clear, but she was smiling at him. Lucius was looking a tad stern, but that could have been as much for Draco as for him. "Sir? Are you upset with me?"

"Did you actually speak with Severus about any of the things Miss Granger brought up?" he asked.

"Not so much, but I guess he didn't tell you we'd had a, well, a _conversation_ the other night that covered a lot of stuff," Harry told him, feeling a flush of heat rise rapidly up his neck and face.

Lucius contemplated him. "No, he hasn't betrayed your trust, Harry. And he wouldn't. And I only ask out of concern. I don't mean to violate your privacy."

"You're not," Harry said. He looked around at them. "I feel like I can talk to each of you now, so it's not like that. And I _am_ talking about things with Severus. Bit by bit."

"Excellent," Lucius said, finally relenting with a smile. "As for your wardrobe replenishment, what exactly would doing so entail? Where are the shops you'd like to visit?"

"Well, _that one _over there-" Harry jerked his head sideways to indicate Draco, "-needs to get himself a pair of trainers that don't say, 'all of my taste is in my mouth,' and- ouch!" Harry chuckled at the punch in the arm he'd just received from Draco. The senior Malfoys sighed with expressions that said they were nearly done with the immature banter. "Uh, well, I like going to Harrod's in London, but there's also Gladrags and I wouldn't mind a quick jaunt over to Quality Quidditch Supplies if you don't think it's a bad idea to go to Diagon Alley?"

"On first instinct, I really don't," Lucius said. He looked at Narcissa. "What do you think, love?"

"Rodolphus and Rabistan won't be in public in broad daylight. Even Bella used to complain they lived like vampires. But I'd confirm with Severus, Harry."

"Alright," Harry agreed. "You'll go too, though, right Draco?"

"I will, Potter, but you can't choose the same shoes as I. I will not be considered by Wizarding Society as wanting to _go twinsies_ with you. The _Prophet _would eat that right up."

"Good thing, that." Harry snarked. Lucius and Narcissa had risen to their feet, so he went to them to say goodnight.

"You still owe me an explanation about your charm, Harry," Lucius said as he hugged the boy.

"I'm working on that," Harry said. "It's a sort of a heat of the moment response. Hard to describe what I do."

"Well, figure it out for Merlin's sake, sweetheart, otherwise Lucius will lose his sanity," Narcissa said with a kiss to his cheek.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen - Failure To Thrive - Subtle Indications

When Harry floo'd back to his place, he found Severus and Hermione in deep conversation in the parlor. He tried to scowl at Hermione, but he'd already gotten over his frustration with her, so he smirked instead. "Good, I'm glad you're here," he told her as she jumped to her feet.

"Harry-" she started.

He shook his head. "I'm over it, Hermione," he said. "Sorry I handled it badly, but I can't always just dive in and talk about some of that stuff." Hermione nodded quickly. Harry watched Severus watching the two of them. The older wizard still had the redness around his eyes from suppressed emotion. "And I know I messed up by apparating when I left. It won't happen again."

Severus' expression was unreadable. "So where have you been since you left the manor, young man?" he asked with that fatherly tone.

"Well, I just came from apologizing to the Malfoys. But before that, Ron caught up to me and we went to the shop and had a chat with George for a while. George wants to come to the next dueling event," Harry said. He plopped down on the sofa next to Severus.

Hermione returned to her seat in the huge armchair opposite the coffee table. "With George's antics, on top of today's silliness, things would be nearly unbearable," she declared. "My abdominal muscles are still aching from all of that laughter."

"Well, I'm just glad he wants to join in. He's still awfully subdued," Harry said. "But he mentioned needing to talk to you, Severus, about the pensieve idea." Harry then brought Hermione up to speed on that plan, finishing with, "Anyway, not much progress there, but it's given him a challenge that he's determined to solve with Severus, and it would likely be something they could sell in the shop."

"I've plans to see him tomorrow to work through a few possibilities," Severus acknowledged.

They were silent for several moments until Harry's thoughts flashed back on the duel between Hermione and Lucius and he burst out laughing. At the curious looks cast his way he said in a bad attempt to speak like a professor, "Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger, for the muddy gnome. And don't think I missed the innuendo behind the muddy hug for the snobby Slytherin pureblood." He grinned at Hermione, who smiled in satisfaction.

"Well played," Severus said quietly. His eyes were bright with thoughts he didn't share.

Hermione suddenly remembered something. "Lucius was really quite disturbed by it's appearance, and Luna even picked up on that." She looked at Severus. "Why do you suppose that was?"

Severus held her gaze as he considered. "That's a very good question." He drew his wand and cast his patronus, with which he communicated silently for a moment before sending it off. "We must be alert for the unexpected. Lucius will be here momentarily, and we'll discuss it further. In the meantime, tea?"

The fireplace flared a few moments later, and Lucius stepped through in time to be offered tea from the service Kreacher had just placed on the coffee table. "Thank you, no," he said as he settled into the comfortable armchair opposite Hermione's. "I've partaken in far too much already for one day."

"Lucius, why were you unsettled by the gnome earlier?" Hermione asked, getting straight to the point.

"Aside from the mud-laden innuendo?" he asked her with a self-deprecating grimace. Lucius' eyebrows rose as he inhaled through his nose and contemplated his answer. "I grew up in that manor, on those grounds. I've never seen a garden gnome there before. I imagine my father must have warded them out."

"If that was possible to do, why haven't the Weasleys ever done it?" Harry asked. "I learned all about de-gnoming from Ron. The Burrow was practically infested with them during the summers that I was there."

"I don't know," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Well, let's not waste time pondering, we should go right to the source." Now _she_ cast her patronus and sent it off with a silent message. She smiled at the men. "I told him there was tea. If Ron hasn't gone to sleep for the night, he'll be here in a-"

The fireplace roared again and both Ron and George stepped through. Lucius stood quickly and visibly tensed at the sight of the additional Weasley. "Ronald," he nodded to Ron and stepped aside, gesturing for the younger man to take his seat. He turned to George and shook his hand, "Mr. Weasley, a pleasure."

By now, Harry had summoned a straight-backed chair from the corner. George sat beside Harry on the sofa, bumping his hip into Harry's deliberately so that Harry was jolted sideways. Harry grinned at George and scooted closer to Severus to make room, but he was watching Lucius take his new seat, wondering about the potential for tensions to flare within this group. Lucius was definitely out of his element now.

"So what's this about muddy gnomes, Hermione?" George asked, giving her a wink. He smirked at the tense blond wizard across from him as he said, "I hear Ronnie had to tend your garden today, Mr. Malfoy."

Severus snorted as his own amusement got the better of him. Lucius glared at him.

That made Harry laugh in spite of his concerns. "This would be the perfect time to have that large scale pensieve handy. I'd love to show you that memory, George."

Lucius finally relented and smiled, but his discomfort was palpable. "I was just telling the others that I've never in my forty-three years seen a gnome on our property. I suppose an intruder could spell himself into one, but I would have thought that our wards would have been effective in repelling a transfigured human. It concerns me, as I'm currently purporting myself to be an expert in warding."

_"One can't know everything,"_ George said in a singsong voice. He flashed a smile at Hermione. "Well, _most _can't."

"It's worth checking into," Severus said. "We know from experience that animagi can get through wards. Remember Wormtail and Black both made it into Hogwarts."

"Oh yeah…" Harry, Hermione and Ron said in unison. "But a gnome is a magical creature, so in theory, it can be specifically warded against," Hermione said in a way that told them all she was recalling something she'd read and putting two-and-two together. "Now I remember. They do require a repelling charm."

George snickered, sharing an ironic look with Ron as he used his wand to levitate a cluster of biscuits from the tray over to his sibling. "Funny, that. Haven't seen a garden gnome on the grounds of the Burrow in quite some time now. Probably since right about the time that Freddy and I moved out."

Ron scowled. "So mum and dad let them on the grounds just to give us chores?" He grabbed a biscuit and held it up in a salute of gratitude to George before biting it in half.

"'Course they did, little brother, taught us all about responsibility, it did." George said.

Harry watched Lucius. He appeared to be stifling irritation at the Weasley's boisterous energy. Harry tried to catch his eye, but Lucius was looking at Severus, who was watching Ron consume a second and third biscuit in record time.

"So, the question remains as to whether your historical wards on the manor included anti-gnoming," Severus redirected them back to the topic at hand.

Lucius nodded. "I did dismantle a quantity of the old protections a while ago, before the war ended, in fact. The anti-gnoming must have been among them. I was not of a mind to pay close attention, unfortunately." It was clear to all that he referred to the span of time when he'd had to surrender the manor to Voldemort.

"I'll ask mum and dad about the spell for you," Ron told him. "I can tell it to Draco when he comes by tomorrow night."

"I'd be grateful, Ronald," Lucius said, and appeared to relax a smidgeon.

Ron snatched another biscuit out of the air, compliments of George, a dreamy look on his face. "So, this could mean that I _gnome-flung_ a Lestrange through the air today," he said ironically. He grinned at Harry and George. "I'll be the next Chosen One yet."

"I don't suppose throwing it like that would have caused the gnome to perish, by chance?" Lucius asked edgily.

"Nah, gnomes are like blobs of bread dough," Ron said. He turned to study Lucius a moment. "But when someone transfigures themselves into a magical creature, they acquire the level of intelligence of the creature, don't they? If that was an intruder, it's not as though he was much of a threat in gnome form."

"No, I don't suppose he was." Lucius said, still with the edge.

"Ron is right," Hermione chimed in. "I imagine that the worst that could have come of it today would be that the intruder is likely still struggling to get off your land, and when he finally does, he will have a very distorted memory of what he witnessed," she advised Lucius.

He met her gaze, still tense. "I suppose there's a strong chance I'm attributing a unrealistic threat to something not capable of malice," he said. He cast his glance around the room as he stood up. "Nonetheless, I'll take my leave now and go have a walk around the grounds."

"I wouldn't recommend using a summoning charm while you're looking for it," George told him as they all stood to see him off. "They tend to land on your head, and are fascinated by long hair. Bill could tell you a couple of revolting stories on that note."

Lucius grimaced uncomfortably and nodded shortly. "I'll remember that Mr. Weasley. Good evening."

George frowned at the flames after Lucius had retreated. "Not much of a sense of humor with that one."

ooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Ron and George said their good nights a few moments later, as did Hermione, and soon the parlor was empty of visitors. Harry turned to Severus. "Are you alright, Severus?" he asked.

"I am," Severus told him in a tone that said he was not willing to share, even if something was indeed bothering him. But he looked Harry in the eye. "Are you?"

"I am, as long as you're not upset with me for earlier?" Harry asked.

"The main reason we are traveling exclusively by floo right now is to derail any attempts at surveillance on our routines from an outsider's view," Severus replied. "I'm doubtful that you've caused too much damage. Where did you apparate to?"

"Here, to the back stoop," Harry said. They both knew that he'd set the wards so that he could apparate within them. Harry thought for a while, and then remembered the plans he'd made with Draco for Tuesday. He relayed them to Severus and waited for the older wizard's response, which still had not come after several long minutes. "Severus?"

"I think I overstepped my bounds with you the other night, Harry," Severus said. "I have no right to impose my authority over you."

Harry gulped. He wasn't sure why, but that actually made him feel like he'd been slapped in the face. "I never thought you'd overstepped, sir," he said softly. "I trust your intuition about things, especially while we have to wonder what's going on with the Lestranges. I'm not planning to find out what it's like to get in trouble with you, but -" Harry faltered and clenched his jaw.

Severus looked over at him for a long moment. He tilted his head to gesture Harry to scoot closer as he lay his arm across the back of the sofa. When Harry had moved over, Severus draped the arm around Harry's shoulders. "I'm glad you trust me to look out for you, and I will do exactly that. I do also remember you are actually an eighteen year old young man encapsulated in that fifth year's physique."

_"And,_ you realize that I need new clothes," Harry finished for him. "What do you think about Tuesday?"

"I have the same instincts as the Malfoys on this," Severus said. "It's not a typical activity for either you or Draco, so it's not as though a trap could be set for you."

"I'll check in with you before and after," Harry offered.

"Fair enough."

They sat in comfortable silence for a long time. Harry's thoughts ranged from wondering what was bothering Severus tonight, to thinking about the benefits of buying his next set of clothes from Gladrags, so that he could get things that had expansion charms in them to grow with his next growth spurt. It was not fun to wear shoes that were too small and have a waistband that was tight enough to bite into his abdomen after a full meal. He compared the length of his legs to Severus' and wondered when Severus had reached his full height. He wondered when James had, too. But he didn't ask, thinking it didn't really matter, because his own body was operating on rules that were not dictated by nature. He guessed he had to just keep talking about stuff, and to try to steer away from stress until he overcame the syndrome. He compared his size to Severus' again. He knew Severus was close to two inches taller than Lucius. Lucius was just over six feet, with a powerful, but lean build. Severus was also lean, but where Lucius was barrel chested, Severus was broad shouldered and wiry. Harry pictured James from the night he'd summoned him with the Resurrection Stone. James had been about six feet as well with a build that was somewhere between Harry's two pseudo guardians. He had a long way to go before he was anywhere near to matching any of them.

"Dare I ask what's going through your thoughts, Mr. Potter?"

"Height," Harry said.

Severus snorted softly. "Care to elaborate?"

"I was just wondering how much I can plan on growing. I think I shot up nearly two inches this week. And I put on weight too. I was just thinking about that, is all."

"You had seemed to be favoring your father before the syndrome took you backwards," Severus said. "James was about an inch shorter than I, and he grew the most in seventh year."

"Huh. What was your growth like?" Harry asked.

"I grew fairly steadily throughout my time at Hogwarts. I was the same height as your father when we graduated, and then I added another inch within a few months after that."

"So, I could possibly take a few years to reach my full height," Harry said gloomily.

"Time will tell, Harry."

ooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"We're agreed, then?" Severus asked Harry carefully two days later. He was sincerely trying not to impose his authority over the boy any more than necessary.

"Completely," Harry said easily. He looked at Draco. "We'll go to Gladrags - the new one, in Diagon Alley - and Quality Quiddich, and if there's time, _maybe_ run over to Harrod's."

"But that would only happen if Gladrags proves to be lacking," Draco finished for him.

Lucius nodded. "And we will wait for your patronus to head out. Then we'll see you at two o'clock at The Magic Kettle for a late lunch."

They were gathered in the Malfoy Manor entryway. Severus and Lucius were going over to Spinner's End for the few hours before lunch. _"Be careful,"_ they all admonished each other in unison.

ooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

"Come along, Potter," Draco called over his shoulder as he made his way up the street toward Gladrags. "Wouldn't want me to find the best footwear before you've had a chance to browse." He spun on his toes to face backwards as he walked so as to get the full impact of Harry's snarky response.

But Harry had slowed and was shooting a wary glance around at the shops and cobbled street as he shook his wrist to release his wand from his sleeve.

"Harry?" Draco asked, immediately stopping and palming his wand as well.

The _zip_ from a spell whizzed past Draco in a flash. Harry deflected it and sent it back to its caster. They both heard a yelp and a growl of anger. Draco spun around again and searched the scene for their attacker. "What was that spell, Harry?" he called.

"A stunner, I think," Harry said. He was moving toward Draco now, still wary.

Draco felt an intense stinging sensation that spread across his back. _"Ahhh!"_ This one had come from another direction. He wondered what the attacker was playing at. The sting continued to burn and Draco recognized it as one that would take hours to wear off. He cautioned himself not to lose his temper. He didn't want to risk violating his probation.

The two young wizards stood back to back now, watching for another attack. This time a bolt of translucent yellow magic came at Draco from just to his right. He easily cast a shield to block it, but still couldn't see who was attacking them. A second later, Harry deflected another hex and then angrily yelled, _"Incarcerous!" _ They heard someone hit the ground with a grunt and a group of people jumped away to reveal the fallen assailant.

"Who _is_ that?" Harry asked, unable to clearly see from this distance the wizard he'd just tied up.

"I don't want to take this any further, Harry. I can't risk it!" Draco declared emphatically.

"I know," Harry said quickly, but he was not about to let the other attacker get away. "Oh, and what's _this_ now?"

They recognized Blaise Zabini racing around the gathering crowd. Blaise cast a _finite_ on his accomplice and they both disapparated away.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Harry yelled angrily to no one in particular. He shook his head and glanced at Draco and saw that the blond wizard was watching something else that made him grow pale. Harry turned to see two pairs of red-robed aurors moving purposefully toward them. He waved them over. "Blaise Zabini and some other bloke just attacked us without provocation. I want to press charges."

"Hand over your wand, Mr. Potter. You are under arrest for assault and public disturbance," a young auror of about twenty-five barked at him coldly.

Harry could hear the same directive being given to Draco behind him. "Are you mad? _We _were the ones who were attacked!"

"I'd advise you to keep your tone civil, Mr. Potter," the second auror told him. "We can keep you in custody indefinitely while we investigate. Wouldn't want us to lose track of your case while we hold you in a cold, lonely cell, now would you?"

Harry shut his mouth. He hadn't heard a peep of protest from Draco, and knew immediately that the blond wizard was terrified. _Bugger all! _

They were paraded as captives in plain sight to The Leaky Cauldron, where they were then taken via floo directly through to the Ministry of Magic. All eyes watched as they were next escorted down to a level Harry had never visited. The sign over the enormous door read _Processing and Holding._ Harry waited until both he and Draco had been seated in the waiting area in front of a reception desk that was currently unstaffed. They were both magically restrained to their chairs and left alone.

"What do you suppose is going on?" Harry asked Draco.

"That was Blaise and his cousin Raj. They were trying to make me cast back at them so I'd violate my probation," Draco told him quietly. "These aurors are all former Slytherins. I never really knew any of them, but I'm betting they didn't think much of my family getting off without prison time."

"So this is a set up?" Harry asked in astonishment. "What utter bollocks!"

Draco's eyes were reddening quickly. "Who's going to believe I wasn't looking for trouble?"

"Anyone who takes a look at our memories, or tests our wands," Harry said emphatically.

"That's not the typical practice, Harry." Draco told him miserably. "I was told when I was sentenced to probation that _any_ situation where I brushed with the law would likely revoke it. I'm going to get a year in Azkaban now."

_"No way,"_ Harry said firmly. _"No bloody way."_ But Draco didn't look appeased. "Did you tell anyone about our plans?" he thought to ask.

"Only Naomi," Draco said. "She doesn't know anyone from our lot that she could tell, or who could have overheard her talking. She spends her days at the muggle University that Granger goes to. And she wouldn't go and broadcast my business anyway." They heard approaching footsteps. Draco was beginning to panic as he whispered, "When they let you summon someone, please get Father first, alright?"

"Yeah, of course," Harry said. "Try not to worry, okay?"

ooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Severus cast a _tempus_ and saw that it was well past two o'clock. He turned to Lucius, who sat at his conjured drafting table using his wand to animate his drawing and play with the relocation of the staircase to the second floor of Spinner's End. The strange anomaly that he'd found was still interfering with his efforts to change the layout.

"Yes, Severus, they are late. And yes, I am beginning to worry," Lucius acknowledged. "I thought their earlier bickering was in good sport, but perhaps they've had a row."

"It's not like Harry to openly miss a meal. He knows he'll be taken to task if he does. Something must be wrong," Severus said. "They're nearly an hour late to check in with us."

"Perhaps they misunderstood, have gone straight to The Magic Kettle, and are thinking _we're_ the late ones," Lucius suggested without conviction.

"Perhaps we'd better make some inquiries," Severus said.

They both headed to the fireplace and in seconds were stepping into the lobby of The Leaky Cauldron. They immediately noticed the curious glances cast their way and knew something had happened. Severus sought out Tom the innkeeper and found out that the boys had been brought through there in custody of aurors several hours ago. Neither appeared injured, but Harry had been fuming and Draco had been uncharacteristically subdued.

Lucius turned to Severus and was unable to hide his concern. "Draco's probation," he whispered urgently.

Severus frowned. "We have friends in high places Lucius. This will not go further." He jerked his head toward the fireplace. "Come, let's head over there. Who do you think we should contact for help?"

"I'm not confident that Kingsley would appreciate my asking directly for his intervention. Perhaps we should hear the Ministry's version of the complaints before we summon our resources."

"Agreed," Severus said, and they each took a pinch of floo powder.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen - Failure To Thrive - Abusing The System

The main receptionist was no use, having just returned from a long meeting to a full inbox of memos and no real information about Harry and Draco to offer. She suggested heading down to _Processing and Holding_ for more information. They thanked her and were immediately approached by two of the aurors who had arrested the young wizards.

"They are both being held on suspicion of assault and public disturbance," Auror Smith informed them. "Draco will be transported to Azkaban as soon as documentation of his probation violation is completed."

"Wait!" Lucius barked. "This is utterly ludicrous! Where is your proof that he has committed a crime?"

"He doesn't need to have done so, Mr. Malfoy," Auror Winger said smugly. "Only to have been involved in any sort of altercation. That's the law, and that was the condition of his sentence."

Lucius pressed his lips together and tried to stifle a scowl of disdain for these two miscreants. "Do not waste your time or mine with this rubbish. I will secure a barrister to help settle this immediately."

"Good luck with that," Smith said coldly as the two aurors walked off.

A quick inquiry with the Secretary to the Minister of Magic found that Minister Shacklebolt was away for the day and unaccessible. Deputy Minister Arthur Weasley was a possibility, but Lucius hesitated to ask him just yet, for the obvious reason that they had hated each other in the past. The other option was Minerva, who could attempt to send an owl to Kingsley asking for intervention. They stood discussing their next move when Hermione approached them.

"Hello, gentlemen," she said, immediately noticing their tension. "Why are you here?"

"Hermione, I'd forgotten you'd started your internship," Severus said, squeezing her hand when they shook in greeting.

Hermione shook Lucius' hand as she answered Severus. "It's very part-time. I'll normally be off on Tuesdays, but the other intern had an emergency, so I'm filling in. What's happened?" She listened intently while Severus recounted what they knew, watching Lucius struggle to contain his panic and rage. "You two go ahead down to have your allotted visit with Harry and Draco. I'll be along soon."

"What would you be able to do, Miss Granger?" Lucius asked tightly.

"Hermione," she corrected him with a reassuring smile. "And I'll do what I do best, of course. I'll research and gather the facts."

ooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Lucius was made to wait nearly an hour to see Draco. The holding area he was detained within was otherwise empty, and there was no clear reason to justify the delay, but the indifference in the attitudes of Aurors Smith and Winger was chilling. It gave him time to ponder just what might be going through Draco's mind as he sat alone, fearful of what was coming. In this past year of aftermath to the Final Battle, Lucius had tried to be as demonstrative of his affection with his son as he was with Harry, but Draco had not been particularly receptive. That could be for a multitude of reasons, first and foremost being unadulterated rage and resentment on Draco's part for his father's past misguidance. But Lucius' biggest fear was that his son didn't believe he was loved that deeply. And why should he? Lucius had been terribly strict and demanding of him all of his life. And to what end?

Sitting here now, having heard nothing of Draco's experience today, he was hard pressed to control his agitation.

"You are allowed five minutes in the cell with your son," Auror McAnthony finally told Lucius stonily. "Five minutes. Just through there."

A door slid open to admit Lucius to a small sterile room, slamming shut as soon as he'd stepped inside. His son was more distraught than he could remember seeing him. "Come, Draco," he said. His heart wanted to break as his boy launched into his arms and held on for dear life.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Father!" Draco shuddered, still feeling the burn of the stinging hex but needing his father's comfort too much to complain. "I only shielded against the attack. I didn't even deflect. Why won't they test my wand?"

"We're getting help with this, son," Lucius said. "Minister Shacklebolt is not on site today, and I'm finding that quite suspicious." He mulled over the likelihood of being able to get Draco out of here any time soon.

"I can't bear for Naomi to find out about this," Draco whispered, resting his chin on father's shoulder. "And I'll lose my slot in the Summer Club, and my chance to finish at Hogwarts."

"Do not despair. We will have to play along with their game until we find out exactly what it is," Lucius told him.

"It was Blaise and Raj, Father. This was entirely about me," Draco said. "It was pathetically transparent. They wanted to taunt me into fighting them. The aurors showed up before the dust had even settled. They've said I'll be going to Azkaban today."

"The hell you will," Lucius seethed. His hand caressed the back of Draco's head, and his tone was absolute. "You are my entire world. _I will not let you suffer."_ Their embrace tightened in a shared desperation at this taste of manufactured injustice. Oh, how the tables had turned, and they both knew it.

"Has Harry been released?" Draco asked after a long moment.

"Not that I know of," Lucius said. "We ran into Miss Granger, and she will try to help." Realizing that time was running out, he said, "I've only a moment left with you. Draco, if you are here for a few more hours, please contain your temper. We will find a way to compensate for this madness when we are safely back at home."

"I will, Father."

A voice projected into the room. _"Your allotted visit has expired. Please exit immediately."_

Lucius squeezed his son hard and turned quickly away so that Draco wouldn't see how close he was to breaking down. He left the boy and passed through the door, emerging into the reception area with red eyes and a clenched jaw to the sound of raised voices and someone being told off.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

A former student of Severus' finally appeared at the desk in the _Holding and Processing_ lobby. He'd left his post abandoned for over an hour.

"Where is Harry Potter, Mr. Bolero?" Severus gritted out at his former student.

_"Auror _Bolero," Rory Bolero corrected him. "Potter's in custody until we can get to the investigation. We have other cases pending and have every right to hold him."

"And what will be the charge?"

"Assault."

"That is utterly absurd," Severus said in a voice of steel. "Harry Potter has never fired a spell at anyone without provocation, and I'll lay down galleons that he's cast nothing lethal in his own defense today. Have you done a _priore incantatum?" _

"No, Mr. Snape," Bolero told him indifferently as he shuffled papers on this desk unnecessarily.

"Why in the world not?"

"Because there is no indication that it's necessary." Bolero raised cold eyes to his former Head of House. "Auror Winger has gathered statements from the victims, and no other witnesses have come-"

"That is _not true,"_ Hermione said fiercely from behind Severus. He turned to see that she was marching determinedly toward them with a stack of forms. "You will stop this nonsense immediately. There were twenty people watching Harry and Draco walk down the street together. All twenty watched as first Harry, then Draco was _attacked._ Harry deflected, and Draco shielded. _In self defense._ It was Harry who cast the_ incarcerous_ on the one assailant. Draco did not use his wand again. Release them and stop wasting Ministry resources in your petty grievances!"

"Miss Granger, you have no authority to make such demands," Bolero sneered at her. "We have processes that we follow strictly. You and Mr. Snape may have a seat if you wish, while Potter is entered into the system. Malfoy is another story altogether."

Hermione looked at Severus. "Arthur is down the hall handling Draco's release," she said loudly enough so that Bolero could hear her. "This is the second time in recent days that I've seen him in action. He's quite impressive, and has no doubt spoken with the Minister by now about this sham." She grimaced at her next thought and leaned close to Severus to say, "Talk about adding fuel to the fire of Harry's loathing of this kind of systemic abuse of power."

"You are quite effective at getting around that abuse, though, aren't you?" Severus pointed out. Hermione's frown softened at his compliment. He held her gaze. "I'd still like to meet you for a late coffee tonight after your Uni lecture, if you'll be up to it."

"Of course," she smiled. "I was planning on it, Severus. I enjoy our talks. And not to worry, I'll apparate to Harry's and we can floo from there."

"Excellent."

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

Arthur Weasley was standing in front of Auror Smith, looking far more authoritative than Lucius could ever remember seeing him. "You will release that boy, right now, without further delay, Mr. Smith. I have already exchanged communications with Minister Shacklebolt and he agrees that you have gravely overstepped your authority. Your blatant refusal to interview witnesses is thoroughly documented, as is your refusal to interview your suspects. You've not even recorded a statement from either Mr. Potter or Mr. Malfoy."

"I'm following the letter of the law, Weasley," Smith argued back. "I have not specifically violated either of their rights."

Arthur leaned in and put his face in front of Smith's. "Bollocks. You will be facing a full review with the Wizengamut for your antics. The days of that sort of misappropriation of power are in the past, young man."

The auror glared at Arthur without saying anything further, but he looked more enraged than intimidated.

Lucius wisely kept his mouth shut as the auror cast a charm to open Draco's cell. Draco emerged looking pale and deflated, lips pressed tightly together to suppress the tears that welled in the corners of his eyes. He came to stand beside Lucius. The two Malfoys waited while Arthur sent the aurors home for the day and called in replacements. When he finally faced them, Lucius could find no words to express his relief and gratitude.

"Arthur-" he tried, but his throat closed off.

The Weasley patriarch shook his head and held out his hand to shake with each of them. "It's done, Lucius. I would have done it for anybody, but I was especially motivated with when I heard it was your son and Harry. I know how far they've both come, and I know the role you've played. There will be no record of this arrest to hold against Draco."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Draco said brokenly.

"Not at all. Come, let's go get Harry."

ooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

A lightbulb flashed as Harry's cell door zipped open.

_"Nice,"_ he barked angrily at the _Prophet_ photographer, who grinned and snapped another photo.

"Harry, how about a comment on what kind of trouble you've gotten into now?" Alec Corsi called out to him.

Harry had a lot of comments, but none fit for print. He kept his face averted so that the blasted reporter couldn't snap another shot of him.

"Come on, Harry, give us a comment!"

"He will not," Lucius said from beyond the crowd of journalists. His expression was like thunder, and somewhat reminiscent of the old Lucius Malfoy as he forced his way into view and jerked his head at Harry, who swiftly joined him and Draco, and the three of them followed Arthur Weasley down a long hallway.

"How in the bloody hell did the _Prophet_ get access to this place?" Harry demanded.

"Do not give into your temper," Lucius warned him in a low tone.

"These four aurors are playing a sticky game here, Harry," Arthur said over his shoulder as he strode briskly along. "They think that they've protected themselves by staying within the legal boundaries of detaining a suspect. And perhaps they have done. You may not have much recourse in the lines of a formal complaint, but internally speaking, they've proven to be unworthy of their posts. We will be short four aurors as of now."

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

Severus and Hermione rose to their feet as they heard the approach of Arthur Weasley leading Harry and the Malfoys.

"Severus, Hermione," Arthur greeted. He hugged and kissed Hermione, shook hands with Severus and turned to Harry. "You're free again, Harry. Off you go, don't give it another thought then, alright?"

Harry snorted sarcastically but held his tongue as he shook Arthur's hand. "Thank you, Arthur. You really came through for us all."

"We all must be diligent to keep things on track," Arthur told them. "And I'd do anything for you or any friend of yours, Harry. You know that."

They said their good-byes and headed out.

Hermione walked to the street exit with them. "Enjoy your lunch, gentlemen," she said when they reached the street.

"Hermione, thanks," Draco said. He'd not yet shaken his fear and was speaking even more humbly than usual. He took her hand and bowed over it. "I'm in your debt, yet again."

Harry hugged Hermione hard. "I've lost count of the messes you've helped me out of."

And then Hermione headed out for her class and the four male wizards finally went for their very late lunch.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

They were shown to an outdoor spot that had curved benches for seating that circled the tables. The server levitated over a set of menus. Severus passed them around.

"Order something large and full of calories, Mr. Potter," he instructed in a _don't argue with me_ tone.

"You will not skip a meal," Lucius said sternly to Harry, then directed his attitude at Draco. "And neither will you."

"I hadn't even opened my mouth," Harry muttered as he opened the menu.

"Right?" Draco snarled, refusing to meet his father's eyes.

"Couple of mother hens," Harry added under his breath, knowing full well the older wizards had heard him. And, no surprise, someone sent the smacking hex at his backside. "Ouch," he commented off-handedly. Then to Draco, "So, what are you having, Blondie?"

Draco laughed in spite of himself. "I'll be having the Croque Monsieur."

"The croak _what?"_ Harry asked with a skeptical look.

"It's good here. Try it, Potter. _Trust me."_

The server came to take their beverage orders.

"I'll have a butterbeer," Harry said.

"Make that two," Draco said with a little bit more spirit.

Lucius and Severus looked at each other, narrowed their eyes, and said in unison, "Whiskey."

"Ogden's," Lucius added. "At least the twelve year old."

"Neat," Severus said. He caught Harry battling a reluctant grin of amusement, as if the teen was trying to hang onto his rage from the day's events. "Alright now, Harry?"

Harry glared off into the distance. "I'd be a lot better if we'd gotten to shop for trainers. These ones are pinching my feet." He cast a look over at Draco. "How about you, Draco?"

"I'd be a lot better if this bloody stinging hex would wear off already."

"Stinging hex? They kept you in there without canceling that spell?" Lucius raged. "Where were you hit, son?" His nostrils flared in anger as he turned to lean behind Draco and pull his shirt up to assess his back where the boy indicated his injury. "Your skin is quite inflamed. No wonder you're uncomfortable." He cast a counter charm to essentially cool the sting.

Draco visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Father." He pulled his shirt back down.

Lucius responded by rubbing his son's back. "I think I want the Croque Monsieur as well."

Severus slapped down the menu. "Yes."

OooOooOooOooOooO

A number of curious eyes were drawn to the wizarding foursome as they exited the cafe. Word had already spread through the small town that young Harry Potter had been arrested while in the company of Draco Malfoy. And here they were, with the two most controversial Slytherins alive, clearly having just finished a civilized meal, and clearly all sharing a deep friendship. Lucius and Severus were noticeably calm, probably due to the double whiskeys they'd imbibed. Draco was a bit less strained, but was eager to get back to the manor. Harry was pensive, somewhat distracted from the discussion going on without him.

"Harry, lad," Lucius chided, "where did you go just now?"

Harry blinked. "I'm sorry," he said, still thinking. "Arthur told me earlier that Ginny would be at the Burrow tonight. I need to go see her."

"Do you?" Lucius asked with a knowing tone. He stared at Harry for a moment, then lowered his head to whisper, "Has anyone taught you a good contraception charm, young man?"

Harry sputtered, but knew better than to try to deflect the question. "Yeah," he whispered back uncomfortably. "But I don't think I'll need it just yet."

"Uhm hmm. And from whom did you learn it? Certainly not a Weasley?"

"Sir-" Harry protested.

"Harry, there are _hundreds_ of them." Lucius said.

Harry recognized the sarcastic humor and relaxed. "Ron taught me a good one. I know this because _Hermione_ taught it to _him."_

"Excellent," Lucius said. Then he pulled Harry into a hug. "If you feel you need to talk about today, please come straight over." He squeezed Harry tighter for a second. "I love you, Harry. Be careful, alright?"

Harry was stunned. He looked up at Lucius as he stepped back. "I love you, too," he said spontaneously. That was the first time in his life he'd said the words out loud to someone. It felt wonderful, and clearly touched his pseudo guardian very deeply. He flashed Lucius a grin and turned right into Severus who grunted in surprise, but recovered by hugging him as well. "Oh brother," Harry griped into Severus' shoulder, "we've just given the crowd the show of the century." But he embraced his former professor tighter as he said, "I love you, Severus. Have fun with the lovely Miss Granger tonight."

"I beg your pardon?" Severus asked, openly shocked.

"I meant it. All of it," Harry said. "Thanks for helping me. I'll see you at home." He turned quickly to Draco and they did the complicated muggle-inspired handshake Draco had insisted on showing him earlier. "See you."

"Yeah, see you," Draco said uncertainly.

Harry was glad to see Lucius grasp Draco's shoulder and lead him down the street in the direction of The Leaky Cauldron. His blond friend needed his parents tonight. Severus needed whatever he got out of spending time with Hermione. And Harry needed to see Ginny.

oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

_**A/N Well, now that you've read this far, you can see that I enjoy the process of character bonding. Usually after the bonds are nice and strong, something bad happens. Just saying… Thank you for reading!**_


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen - Failure To Thrive - The 1-Year Memorial - Part I

Severus and Hermione returned to Grimmauld place at half ten that night, having spent the past few hours engrossed in conversation that covered a wide range of theories on spell development. It had ended on a lighter note, when they had been interrupted by the coffee house's open mic poetry reading. They had stayed to hear the first few authors, and had been impressed by some, but less enthused when the subject matter had turned to muggle politics. That had been when they'd shared a look and had simultaneously nodded in silent agreement to adjourn.

"I had such a lovely time, Severus," Hermione said as she followed him through the floo, into the parlor at Grimmauld Place. "I must get to sleep, though. I've left some revising for tomorrow's class to the last minute, so I'll be having an early morning."

"Off you go, then," Severus said. He smiled at her and bowed over her hand, which for some reason made her giggle.

"Good night," she said with her sweet smile that showed her dimples, and was gone in a literal flash a second later.

Severus stared at the fire for a few minutes, thinking about the pleasant ending to a remarkable day. He even included the tremendous agitation he'd suffered while at the Ministry in his overview. That had all resolved exceptionally quickly, once Arthur had intervened, and Severus hadn't had a moment to pull Harry aside to see for himself what kind of emotional damage the experience had done to the boy. Hermione had confessed over coffee that she would expect this to cause a setback for Harry. But the boy had seemed to rally pretty well as they'd had lunch. And then, lo and behold, the little brat had stunned Severus to the core with his casual _I love you, _and he'd been completely unfooted in the hours since. The surge of paternal joy that had nearly choked him was still with him now. He'd been particularly loquacious with Hermione tonight to offset his mind's desire to relive the shocking moment, and with it, the flood of happiness- no, giddiness, that had swelled through his chest. It was something he'd treasure forever.

He had come to care for Harry nearly instantaneously upon his return to Wizarding Britain mere weeks prior, but had not yet come close to disclosing his sentiments to the boy. Those powerful words did not come easily to Severus. His mother had told him she loved him once or twice when he was very little, but never again as he got older, and he'd never said the words to anyone out loud in his life. He'd nearly told Lily he loved her in fifth year, but had lost his nerve, and only days later had called her a _mudblood,_ and that had ended the only close friendship he'd ever had until these past weeks. The fact that he'd heard those words from her son was unbelievably touching.

Wondering if Harry was home yet, he took the stairs two at a time to the third floor and tapped softly on the boy's door. When there was no answer, he turned the knob and looked into the room. The overhead light was off, and he could barely make out the shape of a body under the covers. Severus cast a lumos and shined it into the room so that he could see that indeed the boy was in heavy slumber. He sensed Harry's magic as he crossed back over the threshold, and wondered what kind of spell had been cast in the room as he quietly closed the door. He returned to the parlor, only to have the floo flash in green flame and Hermione come stepping through, wearing pajamas and dressing gown, and looking frightened.

"Something quite unsettling just occurred," she said in response to his look of surprise. "I was climbing into bed when there was a _loud_ knock on my front door," she told him shakily, gathering her robe around herself as if to ward off her discomfort, and Severus could see her body was trembling as much as her voice. "I looked through the peephole, and it was Harry. Or, rather, it was someone pretending to be Harry, because Harry has never used my front door. He _always_ floo's through."

"Harry's asleep upstairs. I've just seen for myself," Severus said in alarm. He gestured for her to sit on the sofa and sat beside her. "There is no question, is there, that trouble is in the making?" He could not suppress the grim tone of his voice. "I had hoped that it would have been reserved for those of us who'd dabbled on the dark side." He faced her as she tried to calm herself, to no avail. "You will agree to stay here, from now on, until the culprits are caught?"

Hermione sighed. "I probably wouldn't be able to sleep at my place, so yes, I'll stay here…. It's not like he could have gotten in, but since I nearly opened the door because it was _Harry,_ it's clear that someone has been paying attention to us, and they know who we trust." She took a couple of calming breaths and finally smiled tremulously at him. "I'll wait until daylight to go get some of my things." She shook her head as she reflected. "It's been a while since I've had to worry about what's at play in the world around me."

Severus watched her grab a throw pillow and hug it to her chest as she leaned back into the sofa cushions. "You are quite safe, Miss Granger," he said gently. She nodded again, but kept her thoughts to herself. He nearly acted on the urge to put his arms around her, but cautioned himself against indulging his healthy male instinct to touch her, which was _quite_ different than the paternal ones that drove him to show protective affection to Harry. There may come a time when such a gesture from him would be appropriate, but it was not yet here. That did not mean, however, he couldn't set out to put her at ease. "Chamomile tea?" he asked. "Perhaps a splash of brandy to enhance its effects?"

"That sounds divine," Hermione said gratefully. She gave him another smile. "Thank you, Severus. And I do know I'm safe. Especially now."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus knocked on Harry's door the following morning. When the boy answered, he was dressed, but did not appear to be inclined to leave his room. One look at his face and Severus knew he was in a horrible mood.

"That's quite a scowl you're greeting the day with, Mr. Potter," he said. When Harry backed up and sat heavily on his bed, Severus followed him in and stood a few feet away, watching for several moments as the teen glowered at nothing in particular. "Hermione will be staying here indefinitely for her own safety. Someone showed up at her flat last night impersonating you," Severus told him.

Harry's eyes shot up to meet his in shock. "She didn't let them in, did she?" he asked.

"No, she came here instead," Severus said. "And you went to bed early. Were you ill?"

"Yeah," Harry said tightly. He was glaring at the floor now.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" Severus asked. When the boy shook his head, Severus inquired, "Is it something between you and I?" Again, the boy shook his head. "Is this a Weasley matter?"

Harry stood up quickly. "If I want to have an appetite for breakfast, we should just go eat. I'll try to tell you about it later," he said, skirting around Severus and pounding down the stairs, leaving Severus to follow with an annoyed frown at a more leisurely pace.

When Severus had caught up with Harry, he found the boy somewhat startled at the sight of both Draco and Hermione in the kitchen. Hermione, of course, was trying to get Kreacher to let her help with some aspect of the meal. Draco was wisely holding his tongue, and Harry ignored the exchange altogether. Severus sat in his usual place across from Harry and went about serving himself. He glanced at Hermione and saw that she still seemed off kilter as well.

Harry loaded a plate with toast and eggs as he addressed the two guests, "So what's going on today?" His tone was still not particularly warm.

"I came by to spend the day brewing with Severus," Draco said, helping himself to food. "I just finished convincing Granger to stay and join us. Now that we're not in school, I don't have to try to show her up."

Harry looked over at Hermione in surprise. "Wow, Hermione. You must be really bothered by your uninvited visitor, if you're skipping class," he said.

Hermione gave him an assessing look. "I guess I am," she said. "It's pretty awful timing, is all. Nearly a year to the day since we've had to deal with any of that lot. Just enough time to forget how terrible it feels."

"Yeah," Harry agreed softly, his appetite draining completely away. He and Hermione shared a look of commiseration for a long moment. He broke it first, looking down at his plate. Tomorrow was the one year anniversary of all of the deaths of so many people who'd mattered so much to him, and who had died because of _that lot._ He cleared his throat. "What exactly happened last night, Hermione?"

"Well, I'd only just gotten home, and was ready for bed, when there was a loud, urgent pounding on the front door of my flat. It _completely_ startled me. I rushed over and saw you through the peephole and immediately thought there must be some kind of emergency. But thankfully, at the last possible second, I just knew it was _not_ you," she told him. Draco and Severus were listening with frowns. "Whomever it was must have used Polyjuice, because their disguise was flawless."

"Huh," Harry said. "How'd they get hair from me then?"

"Maybe one of them really _is_ an animagus, Potter," Draco said. "A bird. He could have blended right in with the flock that comes after you to snatch some of that mess you call hair for their nests."

Harry scowled at Draco. "I'm serious. How would anyone have gotten some of my hair?"

"We'll likely never know," Severus said. He could see that Harry could not bring himself to eat. Having just witnessed the silent exchange of shared horrors between the two Trio members, he completely understood Harry's loss of appetite. He conjured a calming draught from the pantry and placed it beside Harry's plate. When the tense teen looked at him, he raised his eyebrows in challenge.

Harry gulped down the draught and forced himself to clean his plate. But the calming effect was only marginal, leaving him needing to get away from the others as soon as possible. He crammed the last bite of toast into his mouth. "I'll be out in the back," he told them, still chewing as he left the table. "See you at lunch, I guess." He bolted out the back door and into the yard, where he stood struggling to get a grip on himself.

Now instead of angry, he felt despondent. Last night, he'd dreamt battle-era memories all night, only in these dreams, he'd been unable to cry out or express anything verbally. There had been a voice that sounded like Voldemort's, telling him throughout each scenario that he did not get to have a say in anything that had happened. The disdainful voice had told him his needs didn't matter, his feelings didn't matter, and that people had left him because he _did not matter_.

Now that he was awake, rather than try to rationally sort through the dreams, he could only try to fend off thoughts that brought on surges of agonizing dread to his stomach and chest. _Fred had died. Remus had died. Tonks had died_. They'd thought _Severus had died._ And today, the ones that he'd not been able to find room in his brain to feel loss over, like Lavender, and Colin, were weighing heavily over him as well. He felt tears fill his eyes as a rush of rage and desperation rose up in him, and he just_ knew_ more bad things were due to happen. More people he loved were going to be taken away from him.

_Or, they are going to walk away from me,_ he thought, remembering the way Ginny had acted towards him the previous evening.

Either way, Harry needed to be ready.

"Kreacher?" he called out.

The weathered old elf popped into view beside Harry. "Yes, Master Harry?" he asked attentively.

"I was wondering if you could help me," Harry said. He explained his needs to the elf and was pleased to hear that Kreacher could easily help him set up a sort of arena that would withstand his angry magic.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus stood watching Harry practice a particularly powerful blasting hex, over and over on a massive dueling dummy he'd somehow brought outside with him. There was a magical backdrop behind the dummy that absorbed the scattered spell energy that missed its target, which Harry had to have gotten some help setting up. The teen was casting silently, but experimenting with the ways that different movements of each hand affected his magic. Severus did not recognize the spell, and assumed it was yet another example of Harry developing his own, which continued to impress the older wizard. He felt a camaraderie with Harry in that regard, which he'd had with few others. Spell development was not a common talent, and it usually manifested itself in more practical terms, especially transfiguration, to which Minerva McGonagall could attest.

Harry seemed to finally get the result he was seeking as he held his left arm stretched outward in front of him, palm down, fingers seeming to be directing his power forward, and brought his wand hand up, smacking his wrists together as he cast, which produced a forceful thrust of magic that sped forward and bashed into the dummy's chest, knocking it flat on its back. Harry levitated the dummy back upright and repeated the spell ten times, each time appearing to create the exact same event.

Apparently satisfied enough to stop, Harry cast a freshening charm on himself to cool off, then conjured a glass for his _aguamenti,_ and had a long drink. He was breathing heavily from the level of magic he'd been expending, and turned when he heard Severus approach.

"Whomever is to be on the receiving end of that rather forceful magical shove is going to be put out of commission quite effectively," Severus told the boy as he walked over to him. Harry grimly nodded his agreement. Severus could see he was a bit better, but still not himself yet. He took the boy's chin and tilted his face up so that their eyes met. "You've been assaulting that dummy for two solid hours," he chided softly. "What's bothering you, Harry?" The gloom returned to Harry's expression as he clenched his jaw and pulled his face from Severus' grasp. He stood looking up at his former professor with a troubled expression for a few short moments before his eyes filled. A second later he had thrown his arms around Severus' middle and buried his face in his jumper. Severus cupped the back of the boy's head and draped a heavy arm down his back to pull him close.

"Something's wrong, Severus," Harry finally said brokenly. "Something bad's going to happen. It's been a year, but that feeling is coming back, like it was never _really_ over."

"Can you tell me what brought this feeling on?" Severus asked.

"It started yesterday with that whole bunch of bollocks at the Ministry, and I thought I'd gotten past it, but…. I just feel this kind of _heaviness._ That's what Lucius and Narcissa call it, anyway_._ That's exactly what it's like and it's just hard to breathe right now."

"I know what you're referring to, Harry. It's been sneaking up on me, as well," Severus said. He carded his fingers through Harry's hair. "I imagine this time of year will always bring up some difficult memories, probably for the rest of our lives. And I have heard that the first-year anniversary of a tragedy is often surreal, and that the anticipation of the return of full-scale grief is actually harder than the event itself. The same cannot be said for the second anniversary. That one apparently is nearly as difficult as the original event itself."

"Maybe that's part of it, then. Things were weird at the Weasleys last night," Harry finally admitted. "Even Ron sort of made me feel like an intruder. Ginny avoided me all night. It was like she couldn't even look at me." He paused for a moment, leaning into Severus' embrace and receiving a tight squeeze in return. "I felt like I should go, and no one tried to stop me. It was the first time ever that I felt like I didn't belong there. I don't know what that's from. I was sick to my stomach when I got back. I'll never eat Croak Miss-yer again. It sat in my stomach, all that time, and came right up when I got home."

"Good lord," Severus said in concern. "I'm sorry I wasn't around when you got back. We might have been able to talk it out and spare you the upset."

Harry shrugged. "Ron's my oldest friend, after Hagrid. I don't really think he meant for me to feel badly, and I know the whole family is messed up about Fred… It's just that things kind of shifted pretty fast, these past few days. I was so chuffed at how much fun we've had lately with dueling, and hanging out more often."

"In another week or so, you'll probably be able to pick that right back up, Harry," Severus said wisely. "And it's _Croque Monsier."_

_"Blech,_ don't say it anymore," Harry warned, "or I'll sick up eggs and toast all over your boots."

Severus smiled his amusemement, feeling that paternal swell in his heart again. "I love you as well, Harry," he said softly, pressing a kiss to Harry's temple. "Quite fiercely." He felt the sob that rippled through the boy's chest in reaction to his words, and now it was his turn to feel that wonderful feeling that came from reciprocating deep caring. He rubbed Harry's back as he continued to hold him, reflecting. He was glad to be here, with this wonderful child, during this heavy time, and was finding great comfort for himself in their bond. The growing familiarity with Hermione, Ronald, and George, as well Arthur and Molly was an added benefit. Reuniting with Lucius, Narcissa, and his godson had brought a new dimension to their old friendship very quickly. He had a new best friend in Lucius. There were many shoulders to share this load of grief with. This was his first experience in grieving with friends, and that was an enormously wonderful blessing to be salvaged from the tragic pain of surviving where others had perished. He'd previously suffered his worst losses completely alone. "We will get through the next two days together," he told Harry firmly.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

By the time they reconvened at the table for lunch, Harry had mastered that same spell without using his wand. Severus had not witnessed this, as he'd returned to the lab and rejoined the mad potion brewing the rest of them had continued to do. Harry was about to share, when Draco distracted him with more important matters.

"Harry, I've got a Gladrags catalog with me," Draco told him. "I'm ordering some trainers. You could add some clothes into my order and they'll be delivered together. We can ask for an express owl delivery."

Harry had a funny look on his face. "I'd completely forgot about that option. Let's have it, then," he said. He allowed all present to vote on his choices of clothes and shoes, and ended up getting himself a decent selection, including a formal pair of black trousers and a dark gray dress shirt to wear to the 1-Year Memorial of the Battle of Hogwarts on Friday. For Fred's memorial tomorrow, he'd gotten some brown corduroys, a soft green shirt and an embroidered vest. He added in new pair of boots, and also a pair of trainers that looked nothing like the ones Draco had selected, and his order was complete. The best part was that everything was charmed to resize itself as he grew, so he would be set for clothes for some time now. Draco insisted on handling the bank draft, since Harry hadn't had time to request gold from Gringotts and had to sign drafts from his vault in person, in front of the vendor he was doing business with, due to the ongoing bank restrictions that had been placed on him.

The Gringotts problem was still unresolved for Harry. For some reason, the bank hadn't tried to hold either Ron or Hermione accountable for break-in. Harry was fine with that, but he had no idea how he was going to fix things with the angry goblins.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus floo'd back from the Weasleys late Thursday night, feeling emotionally spent. That had been harder than he'd imagined. The family had a large hole in its collective heart where Fred used to be, in spite of their own individual progress in moving on with their lives. As a family, they were hurting on this first year anniversary. The tribute to the fallen twin of George had been heartfelt and wonderful, and of course full of humor. But Severus felt deep sadness, and had seen that Harry had been equally affected by the depth of shared emotion in the crowd. It had been distressing to watch Harry attempt to speak with Ginevra again, and though Severus had no knowledge of how far they'd previously taken their relationship, it was clear that a large barrier had been erected between them. Severus had taken some extra time to talk to George, who was wearing the new prosthetic ear he'd built for himself. The younger man had excitedly informed Severus that he had made some progress with the _cubic pensieve,_ as they were calling it, just that day, and it had been a pleasant, if brief, segue from the sadness behind the reunion.

He stepped into the parlor at Grimmauld Place to find that Harry had already returned and was settled down on the floor with his back to the sofa.

"That was horrible," Harry said softly.

Severus sat on the sofa beside Harry and carded his fingers through the boy's hair for a moment. He leaned back with a sigh. "It was difficult."

"It seems like there will never be enough time to say everything that should be said," Harry added after a stretch of silence. "I need to speak at the ceremony tomorrow, don't I?" Harry asked.

"I think it is time for both of us to address the public."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty - Failure To Thrive - The 1-Year Memorial - Part II

Lucius flooed into the Harry's parlor unannounced. He was feeling an urgent impulse to check on the boy, but instead of finding Harry, he found Hermione, crying quietly on the sofa.

"I do apologize, Miss Granger, I did not mean to startle you," he told her, and the concern in his voice was genuine as he took in her tearful face. He'd clearly just interrupted a private moment for her.

_"Hermione,"_ she corrected him, as she sniffed delicately and blotted her eyes with a handkerchief. "And that's quite alright. I am just giving in to some confused feelings. I'm hoping by doing so now, I'll be able to hold it together better tomorrow."

Lucius approached her slowly and seated himself sideways on the sofa, so that he was facing her. "What is confusing for you, my dear? You are still recovering from horrific losses and terrifying events, are you not?"

"True," she said. She looked at him for a long moment. "And you? You suffered losses as well…"

Lucius' eyebrows rose upward as he deeply inhaled and slowly shook his head, while admitting softly, "Those who lost their lives on my side were almost exclusively criminally insane. They died fighting Voldemort's battle, believing he should have gained power over everyone and everything. It's hard to mourn their deaths in that context. Had they survived, they'd have been, at best, an utter societal nuisance. And at worst, a very dangerous threat. You are kind to offer your sympathies, but I have suffered _guilt and shame_ this past year. _Not_ grief, my dear." He squeezed her hands briefly, then released them. "Your valiant sacrifices and honorable actions gave me a new life. I will always, always be grateful to you."

Hermione's eyes filled again and she nodded acknowledgment to his words with a watery smile. Her eyes found the flames in the fire and she kept them focused there. "Draco lost a close friend," she pointed out. "That was a terrible moment. Terrifying to witness."

Lucius was touched by her capacity for caring. "My son lost someone he had fallen in with because of my bad influence and choices. But he's finding his own path, and has gained a circle of new, true friends as a result."

"He's come a long way," Hermione said. She looked back at him with a warm smile. "He and Harry are hilarious together. Now _that_ is a miracle, if ever there was one."

"For me, every moment of conversation with any one of you is a miracle. I have gained more than I can quantify."

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

The stage from last year's event was recreated, but this time, more of the grounds were set up for a soirée-style event. The Ministry had hired caterers who were weeding through the crowd with refreshments and enchanted keepsakes. The turnout had doubled this year, and there were several people on hand to make addresses, including Minister Shacklebolt, Deputy Minister Weasley, Headmistress McGonagall, the newly appointed Commander of Magical Law Enforcement, Wesley Rothchilde, and _then,_ Harry and Severus.

The speeches focused mostly on recapping the specific developments in the recovery of the many wizarding institutions, in all things business, education, politics and law enforcement. Harry heard updates that made him feel better about their society as a whole, but when he recollected his mindset this time last year, he realized that the only improvement he'd personally seen had been in his relationships. As far as he was concerned, the _institutions_ continued to be flawed. Case and point, the nonsense at the Ministry three days prior. As a part of wizarding society, Harry had yet to have a good experience with the Ministry. He was willing to hold out a shred of hope that Kingsley and Arthur could really cut through the riffraff, and staff it entirely with quality people. But all signs so far were to the contrary.

He'd tuned out Rothchilde on sight. The man had the narcissistic pomposity that Harry could spot instantly now, and was openly full of himself. It was only a matter of time before he abused his power. Harry wondered idly if those four aurors had really lost their jobs since Tuesday. This Rothchilde bloke did not strike him as a man of integrity, by any means. In fact, he reminded Harry of Cornelius Fudge, though the two were nothing alike physically.

He was brought out of his reverie in time to feel his stomach plummet when he realized it was his turn to speak, and shakily made his way to the podium. He cleared his throat and cast a silent _Sonorus_ on his neck. "HELLO TO ALL OF YOU," he said, and was completely rattled by the _loud_ projection of his voice. The audience hushed and many appeared as startled as he. Feeling his nerves kicking in, Harry just forced himself to keep talking, albeit at a softer volume.

"Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my behavior at last year's Memorial. I know it's obvious to you that I've had an _affliction_ for the last year or so. That very day, last June, the reality was really setting in for me. I'd just spent about an hour in front of the mirror, just glaring, and yelling _'really?'_ to no one in particular." The laughter in the audience was good to hear. He smirked, relaxing a tad. "I remember the kinds of things that were said on this stage last year, and how my own thoughts were so _very_ inappropriate for that kind of gathering." Again, the laughter. Harry smiled lopsidedly at the crowd, eyes meeting some of his friends from school. "So, it _has_ been a time of recovery for us. I suppose I've literally personified the progress we've made, as in _slow but sure._ I myself have only recently really begun to feel better. Most days." He cleared his throat, still receiving random chuckles to his comments. "I think I should share with you a bit of what has been going on with me physically. I know the _Daily Prophet_ has kept you all informed on their ideas, but, uh, if you _know_ me, you know that the _Prophet_ hasn't gotten it right about me in… well, _ever._ So here goes: I've been recovering from the Failure To Thrive Syndrome, which set me back to the age I was when I was kidnapped with Cedric Diggory. That's when I had my blood forcefully taken, to add to a vile potion that resurrected Voldemort. A lot of things happened from that point onward that I didn't get to resolve until now. I can see that having to be fourteen again physically, and if I'm honest, also mentally, was necessary. And I think it's safe to say that today I'm a solid fifteen years old again. Sixteen's on the horizon." He paused and ran his hand through his hair as he made eye contact with more people. "The good news is that I've been getting loads of help from new friends- _great_ friends- as you may know from whatever you can glean out of the gossip in the paper. I know I've caused many of you, those who've known me longest, a lot of grief and frustration by refusing your help. Not sure why that was, but in the spirit of Hermione Granger's message at our last Memorial, I'm going to suggest that I took a chance on something unlikely, like friendship with former adversaries. And it's paid off. I recommend it to everyone. I'm happy, and hopeful. I wish the same for all of you. Thank you."

There was a roar of applause and a cat call that sounded suspiciously like George Weasley yelling, _"Yay! We love you, Harry!"_ as Harry made his way back to his seat. He laughed somewhat giddily at the relief to be finished speaking and to have apparently done a decent job.

Severus was standing to make his way to the podium as the next speaker. He smiled at Harry and clapped his shoulder as they passed. And now, the former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took center stage. The crowd went completely silent.

"As Mr. Potter has referenced, I'm certain the _Daily Prophet_ has had all matter of _information_ for you about my return. Rather than address anything they could have _possibly_ misconstrued, I will share with you all that I think is appropriate for the public to know about my role in the recovery of the Light.

"I was a foolish and bitter teen when I pledged myself to Lord Voldemort and my rewards were in the form of loss: of innocence, loved ones, and of my self. By the time I transferred my loyalties to Albus Dumbledore and pledged my life, and my servitude, to _him,_ there was not much left to give me hope beyond the eventual destruction of the Dark Lord. I kept my sentiments to myself while among my fellow Death Eaters, although I always suspected that most of us were of the same mind. Indeed, I kept my sentiments to myself while in the company of most, other than Headmaster Dumbledore and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. By the time it was all coming to an end, and it was up to Harry Potter to give his own life in order to take out Voldemort, I was depleted and hopeless. I know you've heard that I was thought to have died after the snake attack, but that was not the case- I was surprised, as well-" here, of course the audience laughed, easing tensions, "-but when I regained consciousness, alone again, in the dark, I decided to relinquish its hold on me entirely. And I left. And now I've returned, and it's been _a pleasure_ to be back." He shocked the audience again with a genuine smile (hadn't there been photos of such an anomaly in the paper by now?) "I do not yet know the role I will play in our world in the future, perhaps by this time next year, I will have an idea.

"I would like to address my final comments to those who were students under my watch, the year I was Headmaster," he said. "There are no words of apology to appropriately express my sentiments about the way my students suffered during that last year at school. I readily admit I failed to protect most of you. I have hope that there were times when some of you realized I was intervening on your behalf, although my own vicious disposition couldn't possibly have reassured you. I regret my inability to shield you from what came to pass.

"And I share the grief, of all who were lost, with all of you."

Severus bowed to the crowd and returned to his seat with a strong, but controlled applause in his wake. He had been heard, and that was exactly what he'd hoped for.

OooOooOooOooOooO

Harry decided to give it one more go with Ginny, seeking her out after he'd exited the stage. She was standing with Micheal Corner, and they appeared to be having an intimate conversation, which caused Harry's stomach to clench in it's familiar, painful way. He knew before she said the words that she'd moved on.

"Gin, can we talk for a minute? Hello, Michael," Harry tried to be unaffected, but knew he wasn't succeeding, and the heat rose quickly up his neck and into his entire face.

Ginny glared at him. She stalked several feet away from the crowd, obviously expecting him to follow. When she spun back to face him, her fury was palpable. "I've tried to understand you, Harry," she told him harshly. "This whole business with you de-aging was hard enough. I thought leaving, and living away would make it easier, especially since you were such a prat about shutting me out, but I _cannot_ accept what you've done. _I can't."_

"What I've done," Harry repeated in confusion.

"You've befriended _that bastard!"_ She nearly spat the words. "I have _still_ not recovered from being possessed by that diary! I still have nightmares! You were _there!_ How could you just _forget_ that? How could you just set that aside?"

Harry was speechless. He knew she was right. He'd done exactly what she'd just said. He'd set it all aside, but he _hadn't forgotten_ about it. He stared back at Ginny with his mouth open, scenes rushing through his mind of both those horrible moments in the Chamber, and facing Lucius over Dobby afterward, and of recent times, when he'd cried his heart out and Lucius had comforted him. Lucius had told Harry he loved him. No one had ever openly said those words to Harry. Until Lucius had. And now Severus had. And Harry was beginning to think he could feel whole one day because of it. But how could he say all of this to Ginny? When in order to get to this point, he'd had to disregard her feelings? And how could he tell her that he knew without a doubt, that Lucius Malfoy was haunted by his past actions? What was the right way to get past things like this? Never forgive someone for their mistakes, and miss out on a really special friendship? But he couldn't say that to her, could he?

"G-Ginny," he stammered, completely unable to formulate a response.

"Don't bother, Harry," she seethed. "Nothing you can say can fix this!" She turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm.

"Listen to me!" he said desperately. "It's you, it's always been _you_ for me! I kept _you_ in my mind when I went to Voldemort, _to die_ in the Forest. You were the last conscious thing I wanted to think about in my life! But Ginny, I- I'm _broken._ I've needed a kind of help no one else could give me until the Malfoys stepped in. And now Severus." He gulped at her unrelenting glare, and the disparaging curl to her lip as she heaved angry breaths in and out of her chest. "You're not wrong to feel like you do," he said softly. "And I'm sorry I've hurt you. So sorry!" He gulped again waiting to see if she'd respond, and tried to stop his world from reeling. "Gin? Say something!"

She shook her head, still fuming. "I'll likely regret it," she said caustically. "I'll always want the best for you, Harry, but I can't know you anymore. I _don't_ know you anymore." And with that, she stalked back to Michael, leaving Harry standing alone, away from the crowd, looking utterly crestfallen.

Lucius had watched the exchange from a distance, and instinctively knew what had come to pass, and why. Feeling horrible guilt, he made his way over to Harry, who had ducked around to the back of the stage to get away from nosy onlookers. He had no words to offer the boy, so he stepped close and gently cupped his hand around the dark head he adored so deeply, to guide it slowly to his shoulder, where he pressed his cheek to Harry's temple and said brokenly, "I'm sorry, son. This is entirely my fault."

Harry couldn't speak. He could never consider ending this close-knit bond with the Malfoy family, and least of all with Lucius. The man had literally saved him, on a difficult day just like this one, nearly a year ago. He wished Ginny could see that. He closed his eyes and leaned into Lucius's chest, feeling instantly comforted when the older wizard embraced him back.

"Do you think you'd like to leave?" Lucius asked after several minutes.

Harry pulled back, shaking his head. "No, I can hold it together," he said. He raised pained eyes to meet Lucius' concerned ones. "I still have to meet Naomi. I keep telling Draco I believe she's a myth."

"Alright, lad," Lucius said. "Come, they're passing out champagne. Perhaps a sip or two might do you some good just now." He leaned forward and kissed Harry on the forehead before placing his hand on the back of the boy's neck to guide him as they rejoined the crowd.

Narcissa, Hermione, Luna, and Draco were chatting in a circle with a pretty young witch that could only be Naomi. Draco shot Harry a concerned look, but it quickly turned into a pompous smirk when Harry wobbled his eyebrows in response. Harry and Lucius joined them just as a waiter came over with a hovering tray of champagne glasses, which he sent into the middle of the group so that they could each take a glass.

In the middle of the crowd -and many were indeed watching Harry Potter and Hermione Granger and their unlikely friends- Harry, Draco, Naomi, Narcissa, Lucius, Hermione and Luna each reached outward...

...and as each ones fingers clasped around the stem of their glass, they _popped_ from sight.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One - Failure To Thrive - Acts of Revenge - Part I

Severus felt the world stop spinning as his brain struggled to process what he'd just seen. He blinked, paralysis setting in for a split second. _"No!"_ the harsh bellow felt like it had ripped from his chest as he broke into a run, charging straight at, and all-out tackling, the waiter who had served the champagne. He pinned the younger wizard down, already recognizing a familiar face beneath the faltering glamour. Rory Bolero. "Where did you send them?" He wandlessly cast a _finite_ on Rory's magical disguise, and the satisfied smirk that was revealed on the younger wizard's face nearly cost Severus all self-control. _"You son of a bitch-"_

"Severus!" Kingsley yelled at him. Percy Weasley had just run up behind the Minister, and Ron, Bill and Arthur were racing over to the scene. "Percy will handle him. I need you sane. _Gather yourself, man!"_

Severus jumped to his feet, effectively releasing Bolero, while Percy immediately had the miscreant auror in wrist and ankle restraints. Severus briefly wondered when Percy had gained such a role of authority with the Ministry.

"We can trace McAnthony, Smith and Winger through their wands, as well as all of the Malfoys," Percy said. "That will likely yield some answers as to culprits and locations of the hostages."

"Agreed. And quickly!" Kingsley responded. He cast a look around and found Rothchilde jogging over to them. "Accompany Weasley to the Ministry to proceed with the trace. Percy's on lead," he told the Commander of Magical Law Enforcement.

Rothchilde gave Kingsley a look that said, _I beg your pardon?_ but the Minister of Magic ignored him as the rest of the Weasley men joined the circle that had formed around Severus. Percy levitated the prisoner and began to run down the hill, with Bolero yelling in fear as he flew, feet first, along beside the middle Weasley brother. Rothchilde ran with much less enthusiasm as he attempted to follow suit.

Arthur and Minerva stood beside Kingsley as the Minister addressed those who had collected to offer their help: Severus, Ron, Bill, George, Lee Jordan, Dean Thomas, and Neville. "Hold out your wands, all of you," Kingsley said. _"Honoris dēputāre,"_ he murmured as he wove an intricate pattern over each of their wands. He then conjured a quick quill and parchment, saying formally, "Let the record show that each wizard present, along with Harry Potter, is officially deputized to act on behalf of, and in assistance to, Magical Law Enforcement to resolve this crisis to its conclusion. You are authorized to use non-lethal force to contain any situation you come upon. If your life, or the life of any of the six victims of this attack is threatened, you are authorized to defend yourself with lethal force." Everyone shot looks of determination at each other as they waited for Kingsley to continue. "There are six people in peril. They were taken by portkey, which very likely means their destination is heavily warded. We are operating blindly as of now. Severus? If it was the Lestranges, and we both know it was, we know their family manor was seized and obliterated by the Ministry. _Where_ else would they have been able to hide? _Who_ else might give them shelter?"

"I have only in my lifetime congregated with either of them in three locations: Lestrange Manor, Malfoy Manor, or Spinner's End," Severus said grimly. "We know they are in none of these locales."

Ron pulled the Deluminator from his pocket. "I might be able to help with that."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry hit hard ground with a grunt of pain, but jumped to his feet quickly, wand at the ready. He cast a domelike shield over himself as he had a look around. He saw two wizards standing nearby, both with arms crossed, having a hearty laugh at the confusion of the Boy Who Lived. One was Auror Winger. _Now, there's a shock,_ Harry thought bitterly to himself. His shield held strongly, but the other wizards didn't try to take it down, clearly unconcerned. Their voices were mostly muted to Harry's hearing, but he caught something about _the graveyard_ in between their snickers and derogatory comments about his stature and age. Harry quickly recognized his surroundings as the grounds of Riddle Manor, in the back near the caretaker's cottage, as he'd seen it in his visions in fourth year.

He canceled his shield and stood glaring at the wizards. "I know who _you_ are," he said to Winger. Then to the other, "But, who are _you?_ and what's this about?"

"Oh, apologies, little Harry." The nameless of the two told him. He looked to be in his late twenties. "We've brought you here to teach your dear friends about loyalty. Now that you're all so happy and family-like, wouldn't it be the _perfect_ tragic ending for each of you to die alone?"

"I've no intention of dying," Harry said with an impressive attempt at nonchalance, but his stomach plummeted in dread and fear.

They laughed. "Well, yes, but that's because you're a dumb little boy, who has no one but the defeated traitors of the Dark Lord to look after him," Winger said.

Harry strained to hold off his panic. "You're grasping," he said, still attempting the indifferent attitude, but the shaking of his voice and body betrayed his fear. "That was yesterday's news. _Voldemort's dead._ Time to bloody well _get over it,_ already." He wondered what Severus or Lucius would have said in this situation. "You still haven't told me who you are," Harry tried again. "Are you Death Eaters?"

The nameless one stepped forward and started to slowly approach Harry. "My uncle Pius was one. I always looked up to him and his ambitions. I'm set to pick up where he left off. I'm Normal Thickeness."

Harry barked a harsh laugh. "No you're not. Who names their child-" it was like divine intervention. He suddenly saw the derisive humor in this pathetic situation. He held up his left hand, as if to stop the idiot from speaking any further. "Nevermind. I could care less, really. So, what's your plan, then?"

Normal shrugged with a taunting smirk. "My plan is to kill you, little boy," he said as he raised his wand.

Harry smacked his wand wrist up against his outstretched left arm and sent his blasting hex out to shoot _Normal Thickeness_ backward about fifty feet behind them, into an unkempt topiary shaped like a giant peacock. He heard a collection of crunches as the wizard crashed through branches and dead leaves, and completely out of view. _One down, for the moment anyway,_ Harry thought as he turned in time to read the slicing hex that Winger made the motions to cast. He deflected it right back to the bully auror, who fell to the ground bleeding and moaning from a horrible, probably mortal, wound to his torso. "Shouldn't play with grownup magic, you ponce," Harry taunted to keep himself from losing momentum.

He sent a challenging glare around for Normal, and could make out the sound of approaching unsteady footsteps. It did not take much calculation to anticipate Normal's attack, as the now injured assailant came into view and cast impulsively, clearly not having expected Harry to prevail. Harry couldn't identify the spell coming his way, but rather than deflect it, he threw up his _open void,_ followed it with a nearly simultaneous and silent _expelliarmus,_ and then a _lashio_ that tightly wrapped inescapable bindings around the older wizard, pinning his arms to his sides, and feet together. Harry caught Normal's wand as it sailed straight to him and gave into his temper, snapping it in half, right before its owner's eyes. In the back of his mind he heard Severus warning him about taking the law into his own hands, but he didn't care. He was not going to let these monsters have a chance to hurt anyone else.

The urgent pounding of his heart helped him stay in motion, and at the moment, the only thing Harry could clearly recall through the shock of the portkey transit was at least four other people getting pulled away within his peripheral vision. That likely meant Draco, Naomi, Narcissa, and Lucius, if not also Hermione and Luna. But none of them were anywhere nearby.

He cast his patronus, embedded his message, and swished his wand to send it racing away. He sensed warding over the Riddle grounds, so he set off running for the property boundary.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

Ron had just finished explaining how the Deluminator worked, and was attempting to locate Hermione or Harry, when a familiar stag patronus approached them.

_"We were abducted and portkeyed separately. I landed at Riddle Manor, I've gotten loose. One of my captors needs a healer as soon as possible. The other is Auror Winger, and he's tied up and wandless. They said something about the graveyard - probably Little Hangleton where Voldemort was resurrected. There's a wood surrounding it. I'm headed there."_

"You will need brooms," Minerva called after the male wizards as they all began to run through the waning crowd, down the hill to the school gates. She summoned the set of brand new Nimbus Millennium school brooms from the Quidditch locker area, directing them individually to the retreating figures, and each deputy grabbed one as he ran.

Just outside the gates, they convened one last time.

"There will be anti-apparition wards, so we will apparate to the graveyard entrance and surveil the situation," Kingsley directed. "If any one of the captives is there, we will decide how many of us stays to contain the situation, and who will follow Ron to the next destination. Arthur, once we know what we're up against, I'll want you to return to the Ministry for Percy's report. Team yourselves in the following pairs: Severus, you'll join Harry. Ron with Neville, Arthur with Bill, George with Lee. Dean, you're with me. If forced to separate, we'll communicate by patronus where possible, and return to the Hogwarts infirmary with retrieved captives. Agreed?"

_"Agreed."_ The group said in grim unison.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry popped into the spot behind the large boulder he'd used to shield himself from Voldemort's _cruciatus_ curses four years prior. He heard a bellow of pain, and recognized the voice as belonging to Lucius. Wand drawn, he cast a silencing charm on himself as he raced to duck out of sight and into the wooded perimeter of the graveyard. He dearly wanted to send another patronus to Severus, or any of the Weasleys or Kingsley, but he dared not risk drawing attention to himself with its bright light. He heard another yell from Lucius, a scream of agony that cut off suddenly, filling Harry with dread. That kind of scream only came from losing consciousness from unfathomable pain. He pressed his lips together as tears sprung to his eyes, and he struggled to keep himself from calling out to his pseudo guardian as he continued to circle the area, searching for Lucius and whomever his assailants were.

He came around a thick cluster of greenery and inadvertently ran out into the open area of manicured lawn and grave markers. Harry recognized the wizard before him as one of the Lestranges, though he didn't know which. The dark wizard was standing over Lucius, who looked as though he'd dropped from a great height and landed in a broken heap, on his side, facing Harry. Harry didn't hesitate, and cast his _magical shove_ hex with all of the force he could muster, watching grimly as Lestrange flew, at furious speed, out of sight. Harry heard a dull _thunk_ in the distance, and hoped, beyond hope, that he'd put the bastard out of commission as he ran to Lucius and dropped to his knees on the damp grass beside his fallen pseudo guardian. Lucius' hair was matted with blood and dirt and covering his face. Harry knew better than to try to move him until he knew how badly the senior Malfoy was hurt.

"Lucius!" he whispered fearfully into the fallen wizard's ear. When he got no response, he looked the older wizard over, noticing a leg and an arm twisted at unnatural angles, and decided on the spot that he was out of his league in this. _Why_ hadn't he learned healing charms? He wished for Severus. He wished for Hermione. But he had no idea if anyone would come. He carefully felt for a pulse on Lucius' neck and found a very faint beat against the skin beneath his fingers. Panic rose up in him now, and he thought furiously about what he should do next.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus heard the impact of a body against a hard surface and had a good idea what had just happened. _Harry!_ "This way!" he called in a low voice, disillusioning himself as he straddled his broom and rushed up into the air, leading the rest to fly though the trees to the far side of the graveyard, where they could all see Harry in a clearing, hovering over a very badly injured body. "I see no assailants - we must separate and secure the area!" Severus said.

Harry obviously saw them now, and the boy was pointing at an area behind where he was kneeling.

"Go to Harry," Kingsley directed. "Ron, Neville, go as well. The rest of you, with me!" Kingsley lead the others out of sight behind a section of wood that divided the graves from the mausoleum area.

Severus led Ron and Neville toward Harry, and they all saw Harry cast a dome-like shield over himself as they registered the sudden appearance of four other wizards who began to send hexes and killing curses at those on their brooms. While in motion, they were not easy targets, but neither were they easily able to shield and deflect, as they made their perilous descent to the ground near Harry and Lucius.

"Hold your shield, Harry!" Severus yelled frantically as a full fledged dual to the deaths began in earnest. He recognized Rololphus Lestrange, but not the other three wizards who were furiously casting deadly slicing, blasting, and flaming curses at Harry's good friends and at Severus.

"Switch with me, Harry!" Neville yelled. He knew he was the weakest of them as a fighter. He had an excellent dome shield, however. He dove toward Harry and cast his shield as the smaller wizard jumped up to join in the fray with Ron and Severus.

Severus was on the front point of their triangular formation. He was directly engaged with Rodolphus, and kept complete focus as he cast and deflected with deadly precision. Rodolphus was a formidable opponent, and they were nearly equally matched in skill. Nearly.

Ron had felled one of Lestrange's fellows, and now he and Harry were facing off the other two, who were clearly not as strong with their wands as their leader. They had spread themselves apart and were circling around, forcing the two best friends to stand back to back to fight.

This was not a bad thing. It gave Harry the chance to indulge his fury, as he sent a simultaneous _expelliarmus_ and one of George's favorite curses, the _projectile puking hex_, at the idiot he was currently facing. In a matter of seconds, the other wizard had turned a vile shade of green and was completely debilitated by his vomiting. Harry caught this ones wand and snapped it in half as well.

"Can we do that?" Ron asked in surprise as he pulled the grass out from under his assailant, and hurled a pulse of magic that caused the dark wizard to freeze under a paralyzing pressure on his chest as his feet went up and out from under him. After he'd slammed hard onto the ground, the only way to continue to breathe was to lay flat, arms and legs outstretched, which is exactly what the now decommissioned wizard was doing.

"I guess I'll find out," Harry said, having a flash of realization that when his anger was calmed, he'd have far less bravado about being in trouble with Severus. He looked over at Lucius and Neville. They were still protected under the shield. Lucius hadn't stirred. He cast an _incarcerous_ at both the puking wizard and the one Ron had knocked senseless early on, who was still out cold.

He and Ron turned simultaneously toward Severus, in time to witness a spectacular exchange of curses between the two older wizards who were still actively engaged. Harry was reminded of the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore at the Ministry. They'd both summoned elements and hurled them into lavish bursts of energy and debris. What was sailing back and forth between Severus and Rodolphus looked like splits in the atmosphere, as if creating openings to alternate dimensions.

"You were always such a sanctimonious prick, Severus," Rodolphus seethed. "I should have known you were out for yourself all along."

"As were you," Severus said unapologetically, his wand arm slashing dramatically left and right, as he cast vigorously.

"I never understood why Lucius befriended you, half-blood that you are," Rodolphus continued, slashing his wand viciously, to send a lethal cutting curse that would have sheared Severus in half if he'd not deflected it. The magical strength behind the curse was to such a degree that the deflection was not controlled, and it whirled the lethal magic off into the wood, where it halved a tree instead. "And Narcissa, she always had a thing for you, didn't she?"

"No, she loved _Lucius,"_ Severus corrected, casting a _sectum sempra_ and successfully getting somewhat past Rodophus' shield enough to deeply cut the man's shoulder. He ignored Lestrange's angry bellow of pain, continuing conversationally, "I was her confidant, not her lover. It was Rabastan who wanted to have her, and stalked her, but she saw him for the worthless dolt that he was."

"He did no such thing. He went after Evelyn Munson, and married _her_ instead. Narcissa was jealous."

Severus snorted with disdain. "The hell she was. She was relieved." More frantic magic flew between them, clashing with barely visible transparent impediments. "And you married a witch who grew more and more unstable, and who transferred her affections to your Lord. How very demoralizing." His arm flew upward and a transparent, bowl-shaped film of magic spread in front of him just in time for Rodolphus' fiery curse to _splat_ against it and billow out to the sides, roaring ferociously around the curves of the shield and hurling back at Lestrange. "No wonder you still hold onto what might have been. Never mind that you've reduced yourself to terrorizing those of us who have a desire to live normally."

Rodolphus had conjured a metal barrier in front of himself, which melted rapidly when his previous curse returned to him. His shocked eyes met Severus' for the split second, before the former potions professor whirled his wand over his head and snapped it outward toward Lestrange, releasing a series of ropes that essentially hogtied the Death Eater, knocking him hard to the ground, face down, feet and hands all bound in one solid bundle.

Severus spun to see what remained of the crisis at hand. Neville was standing, back to back with Ron, keeping watch for new assailants and Harry was again on his knees beside Lucius.

Severus rushed over and knelt next to Harry. "What was done to him, do you know?" Harry shook his head and rocked back on his heals to get out of Severus' way as the older wizard cast a diagnostic charm over his old friend. The reading was grim: numerous broken bones, concussion, and dark magic embedded in the blond wizard's broken leg. There was no time to begin healing, but he did successfully roll Lucius onto a conjured stretcher.

The blond wizard moaned in pain and briefly regained consciousness. "Severus?"

Severus lay his palm on Lucius' forehead. "I am here. I have Harry with me. You are going to see Poppy at Hogwarts. Hold on, friend. All will be well soon," he said. He was uncertain what Lucius had heard of that, and was glad when the blond wizard slipped back into oblivion.

Kinglsey, Dean, Lee and George flew rapidly into view and descended to land beside them. Lee and George were balancing a body-shaped bundle, wrapped in white draping, between them, and all of the newly arrived faces were grim.

"Who is that?" Harry asked in dread.

"Naomi Butler," Kingsley told him. "We just finished a battle with five additional wizards, one being Naomi. She fought against us, and with far more skill than should be normal for an eighteen year old witch."

"I deflected like Harry always does," Dean said. "Her own curse took her down. It was some kind of de-skinning spell, so there's not much left to see of her, but I could swear she'd shifted out of a glamour, or Polyjuice, while we were dueling."

"I want to have Poppy assess her for signs of being _imperiused_ or otherwise controlled," Kingsley told them grimly. He glanced around and saw the four felled wizards. "You've caught Rodolphus. Good. And who are these others?"

"Hadn't yet bothered to ask," Ron said in disgust. "Honestly, what drives people to pull this kind of thing?"

"We have to stop wasting time!" Harry yelled. "Draco, Hermione, Narcissa, Luna… where are they?"

Severus put a hand on Harry's shoulder to calm him and felt how badly he was shaking. He gave the shoulder a squeeze of warning for the boy to keep his faculties in check. "Rodolphus mentioned Evelyn Munson. I believe there's a strong chance Rabistan is holed up at that family's estate, and likely, at the very least has Narcissa with him."

"The Munsons," Kingsley remembered. "They were all murdered, and their killer never found. It was conveniently blamed on Voldemort."

"Yes," Severus agreed. "The estate would have gone to Rabistan, and it is protected by the Fidelius charm. I believe Lucius may know the secret phrase to access it. We must get him to Poppy. I see no other options at this point."

"Maybe that's why I can't see anything with the Deluminator? They're in an unplottable location." Ron said.

"Possibly, although, knowing Albus, there's a built-in adaptor for such a situation," Severus suggested.

"We will return to Hogwarts," Kingsley said. "I've got Arthur and Bill overseeing the arrests and detentions of the culprits we've contained so far."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"Mr. Potter, a word," Severus said in a low voice, his hand on Harry's arm to hold him back from entering the infirmary with the rest. He led Harry a few paces away from the door and turned so that they faced each other. "Just how many wands have you snapped today, young man?"

Harry's mouth dropped open and he took a couple of steps backward. "It seemed like a _really_ good idea when I was all worked up," he said nervously.

Severus schooled his features to stay stern. "Yes, well, it was _not_ a good idea at all. It is against the law to do so. It is considered vandalism. You could even be called in front of the Wizengamut for this," he said severely.

"Oh," Harry whispered.

"Indeed." Severus crooked a finger at him to come closer. When the boy was within reach, Severus took his arm and turned him to the side, swatting him three times. Hard enough to sting, but not a true act of discipline. He wasn't interested in embarrassing Harry, or bringing him to tears of shame. He just wanted the boy's attention. Harry hissed, but didn't try to squirm away. He kept his back to Severus when he was released. "I trust I won't have to repeat myself."

"No, sir." Now Harry turned to look at his former professor and the look on his face was comical. "Let me get this straight," he said to Severus in exasperation. "_Normal Thickeness_ gets to try to slice me in half, and _I_ get spanked for putting a stop to it?"

Severus clenched his teeth to suppress a smirk of amusement, and it was a true measure of his self control that he still sounded stern, although irony was audible as well, when he responded. _"Only you_ could end up in a confrontation with Normal," he said. "Go back inside, Mr. Potter and keep close to Lucius while I compose myself."

Harry looked confused, but did as he was told. As soon as the infirmary door had closed behind him, Severus let loose with the snort of laughter at the brat's audacity. He heard another laugh, and looked up from where he'd leant down to place his hands on his knees for support to see Minerva coming toward him with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wet with her own mirth.

"He's snapping their wands?" She laughed. "Oh, my."

"Kingsley pulled me aside a short time ago to beg me to nip it in the bud before he had to take action." He stood up and sobered rapidly. "I shouldn't be able to muster a laugh right now. We have quite a situation at hand."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Ron looked up from the puzzle of his Deluminator to give Harry an inquiring look as the dark haired teen came to stand beside him. "Remember that question you asked not too long ago?" Harry asked, reaching back to rub at the lingering sting on his behind. "Yeah… the answer is _no._ We can _not_ to do that."

Ron chuckled softly. "Did you just get shown the _hand of reprimand?_ That's what Fred used to call it."

"Yeah," Harry said. He watched Ron fiddle with Dumbledore's invention for a moment before his best friend's face lit up.

"I've got someone!" Ron called out. Kingsley, Dean, and Neville came over and waited with Harry while Ron stared intently at something they could not see. "Luna! She's alone, walking along a road. I can get to her if I apparate. I don't see anything else around. It should be safe."

"Take the shortcut!" Harry said, meaning for Ron to Floo to Grimmauld Place and disapparate from the back stoop, to save the time it took to run down to the school gates.

"Right!" Ron flashed a look at Kingsley, who nodded.

"Take Neville. Bring Luna here. If you get word of any of the others-"

"Yeah - I'll tell you first thing! Come on, Neville," Ron said.

The two young wizards rushed to the floo and disappeared in a flash.

By now, Severus and Minerva had entered the infirmary and were standing near Lucius' bedside, where Madam Pomfrey had him in hospital pajamas, splints and bandages adorning his injuries. Harry, George and Lee moved closer. Harry squeezed over to stand beside Severus and leaned into the man's side when he felt an arm go around him.

There was a gasp and a groan from Lucius as Madam Pomfrey began to shear off his hair so that she could dress his head wound. "I apologize, Mr. Malfoy, but your lovely long hair will have to go for now. I can't bandage you properly with it all in the way."

"I'm not concerned, Madame," Lucius said weakly. "I've been having a repeating nightmare about a gnome making himself at home in a tangle of my hair as it is. Shear away."

George snickered in amusement, and winked at Harry. But the mood quickly shifted back to urgency as Lucius seemed to become more aware of his circumstances.

"Lucius," Severus said over Harry's head. "Do you recall the secret phrase to access the Munson Estate?"

"Of course, I do," Lucius said in a tone that sounded insulted. _"The estate can be found on the grassy knoll of Northern Brunswick,"_ he recited. They could see the alarm slowly rise into his conscious awareness, as he fully understood where he was. "My wife? Draco?" he asked. "Who…? There were others as well. Rodolphus told me the plan was to kill some and maim others. Harry?"

"I'm here, sir," Harry said. He moved forward to take Lucius outstretched hand and stood within the older wizard's line of sight. "I got away. We were all sent to separate places. We have lots of help though, so try not to worry."

"Not possible," Lucius murmured, but his eyes began to roll upward and he faded out of consciousness again.

"That's the drain on his magic from the curse in his leg," Madame Pomfrey told Harry and the others. "I will begin to look for the counter curse, and have Fillius assist. It's a bad curse, but it will not destroy him. He will be alright, Mr. Potter, so calm yourself and go do what you do best."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two - Failure To Thrive - Acts of Revenge - Part II

Kingsley cast a patronus as he stepped away from the patient beds and into the more open area of the infirmary, where all present deputies could gather around him. "I'd like to have a sense of who we will encounter at the Munson Estate," he told them, as the floo roared and first Bill, then Percy stepped out.

"We've taken Winger to St. Mungo's, and have Bolero in a cell, Minister. The other prisoners are in holding at Azkaban. I've seen to it personally." Percy said. "That leaves McAnthony and Smith at the Estate. I get a faint trace on each of their wands near the property boundaries on the west side, likely just within the wards. I never saw any activity from Lucius Malfoy's wand, nor have I yet to see any signs of use from Madam Malfoy's. But, I _just _saw a very faint trace on Draco's wand from the center of a lake a hundred miles north of here. I can only hope he's swimming and using it to cast warming charms on himself. Hestia and my father took Aurors Cresby and Hannon to go get him by broom."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was truly frightened for Draco. But as soon as he'd registered that thought, the horrible fear for Hermione and Narcissa crept back in. Not to mention that Ron and Neville had not yet returned with Luna. It hadn't really been long enough for them to be back, but he was anxious nonetheless. He looked around at the group of friends he stood with, and had a flash of reflection on how very differently this crisis was playing itself out… and how he was not the only one who could end the drama. But when he looked at Severus, he saw a truth in the older wizard's eyes that nearly made his stomach sink into the floor.

"Lest we have forgotten who we are dealing with," Severus said in a low, tormented voice, "Rabastan Lestrange is notorious for taking pleasure in the violation of women. Gentlemen, please be prepared for the worst, and comport yourselves with even _more_ care and respect than you would normally employ when you do encounter any of the ladies in peril."

Harry's stomach clenched horribly. He looked off to the side to get himself centered again. This added a gruesome dimension to the dreadful possibilities of the events in progress, and the aftermath that would follow. He couldn't look at Severus, because he'd start to cry if he did. He suspected Severus needed the distance as well.

"Understood," Kingsley was saying when Harry returned to the present. "We will stay in the same pairs. Percy, who have you assigned to assist us?"

"I've got Conklin, Warner, Bethesda, and Dickenson on site at the periphery of the estate, south side, and two additional duo teams on standby," Percy replied.

"If we do not find both Hermione and Narcissa at this estate, let it stand now that whomever has rescued a victim will bring her back here with his partner's assistance. Shoot red sparks into the air for a ten second interval. Once the estate is contained, the others are to prepare for the next operation, and reconvene on the north side of the property for instructions."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry _popped_ softly onto a grassy knoll that overlooked a massive estate that he could only see because he knew the magical address. Severus _popped_ into view a couple of feet away. Night had fallen over an hour ago, and they at least had the cover of darkness as they felt for wards. Harry cast a silent _homenum revelio_ to feel confident they were in the clear of the wrong sort of wizardkind. A series of _pops_ sounded quietly in the surrounding area, as Percy, Bill, George, and Lee apparated to the scene. They fanned out, each team assessing the wards, which they would still need to bypass.

Harry stuck close to Severus, knowing he wouldn't be much help after they'd found a thinner section of magic, where they could begin the long task of dismantling. Severus and Bill were likely to be the ones to pull that off, but Harry knew himself well enough at this point to realize he'd soak up what he witnessed and learn his own version of it after tonight. He knew that Kingsley had the other auror team doing the same thing on the south side of the grounds. That team had specifically trained for just such an occasion, but they all knew this was a very old estate, and it could still contain very ancient warding that would read like gobbledegook to those who were attempting to unravel it.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"It's bloody freezing out here!" Hestia yelled to Arthur as they flew low over the water of the huge Loche, searching for Draco.

They were not yet close enough for a _point me_ spell to be effective, but Arthur continuously cast it, so that there would be no missing the young blond wizard. Arthur glanced at the other two aurors, pleased to see their intense focus and grim determination. There was no reason to think Draco could survive so much time in this frigid water, but he was not prepared to give up. And he was certainly not prepared to bring Lucius Malfoy's only son home as a corpse.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

After they'd been at it for about an hour, Harry heard a hiss of triumph coming from Bill and shortly repeated by Severus. They'd broken through! From that point, the dismantling was a rapid exercise and within a few short minutes, Harry was crouching as he ran onto the property, again fanning out, but pairing with Severus as they approached the main building that was the manor itself. Harry followed Severus to a door, which appeared to open outward from the kitchen. Severus cast a charm that produced a small apparition, which appeared to show the human inhabitants of the room beyond the door. There was a red human-shaped blur moving away from them towards another doorway that led further inside the house. Severus pointed at it, and then at himself, eyebrows raised in question. Harry nodded quickly.

Harry pointed his wand at the door and cast a silencing charm, and then an _alohomora. _The door swung open as Harry stepped behind Severus and followed him into the house. His vision was blocked, but he had a pretty good idea of what the brisk slash of Severus' wand yielded when he heard a grunt, and the muted sound of someone hitting the floor beneath another silencing charm.

_"Point me, Narcissa,"_ Severus whispered.

_"Point me, Hermione,"_ Harry whispered.

Severus' wand immediately reacted, but Harry's remained still, so he squelched the horrible dread beneath the tight and sore muscles of his abdomen, and followed his newer father figure through the doorway and into a dimly lit hallway.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"He's nearby!" Arthur yelled to the others as his wand began to dance urgently in his hand. The others each cast _lumos engorgios_ to shine a large swath of light over the lake's choppy black surface. Arthur searched frantically, scanning his eyes back and forth, back and forth. Finally, he spotted a blond head submerged below the water and his stomach plummeted. "He's there!"

All four dove low and formed a hovering circle around the teen, while Arthur lay on the broom and stretched his arms down into the freezing cold water until he got his hands under Draco's armpits. Hestia cast a levitation charm to help Arthur pull Draco upward. The boy's face was colorless and his lips were blue, but he was breathing. Miraculously.

"There we go, Draco, not to worry, son," Arthur narrated kindly as he managed to seat the barely conscious Draco in front of him on the broom. Hestia cast multiple drying and heating charms over the teen, after which Arthur wrapped an arm around Draco's torso and pulled him back into his chest for stability and warmth while they flew. "Let's go!" he yelled, leading them at a pace that would have impressed even Harry Potter, let alone the rest of his children.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

_"Hey, who's that?"_ A voice yelled from ahead of Severus, and a spell flashed toward them both.

Harry deflected, Severus cast a vicious magical _thump_ of energy that propelled along the open space directly back to their aggressor, and bashed him way, way down the long hall and into a mirror, which shattered in a massive symphony of tinkling, splintered glass.

_"Shite,"_ Severus cursed. Too late to hide themselves, he led Harry through a door that opened into a bedroom suite with a jack-and-jill bathroom, which opened to another bedroom. Through that, they exited into a hall that intersected with the original, but Severus' wand continued to direct them, so they raced down that hall, all the while hearing scrambling footsteps and alarmed voices from all directions of the massive interior. Curses were being exchanged as other teams gained entry to the huge house. Harry followed Severus to another door, which led them into a vast study that was lined with bookshelves, and filled with large, heavy pieces of furniture.

Harry cast his own_ point me, Narcissa _and now both of their wands tugged them toward the center bookshelves. Severus and Harry both searched for a hidden opening among the books.

"It's bloody Severus Snape!" A sneering voice announced from the doorway. Harry recognized the voice as ex-auror Smith.

Severus shot a curse over his shoulder without even looking at the other wizard, and nearly took him out. Harry could only wonder, _who ever told Severus he wasn't cool?_ as he moved around to have his back to Severus' and engage Smith while Severus continued to attempt to locate the hidden door. Smith climbed back to his feet and stood glaring at Harry for a long moment. Harry ran out of patience and cast his magical shove with enough force to blow Smith out of sight, somewhere into the hallway.

Severus pulled Harry several paces away from the bookshelves and began to magically hurl the books away from the center shelves to reveal the bare walls behind them. The books flew frantically, landing heavily and piling themselves in a pyramid that blocked the doorway Smith had just disappeared through. Harry knew it was only a matter of seconds before someone blasted those books right back at them. He could hear angry voices collecting in the hallway.

"Why can't we get to the door?" Harry asked anxiously. He turned to find Severus waving and swishing his wand frantically, attempting countless jixes and charms to force the secret door to reveal itself. "Maybe a well-placed _bombarda?"_ Harry suggested. "Umbridge managed to get into the Room of Requirement with one in fifth year."

Severus turned to have a look at Harry, eyebrow raised while he contemplated. He repeated the charm that produced the apparition of what lay beyond the wall and they could see a woman's body on the ground, appearing to be significantly far away from this wall.

Harry refused to think about the fact that the body was still. "We could injure her," he said softly.

"Enough of this," Severus said angrily. He turned slightly and cast his _bombarda_ at an angle that would hurl the debris away from Narcissa as it blast through the wall.

The resounding _BOOM!_ was nothing short of spectacular, as was the size of the hole in the wall. They raced through, and Harry immediately saw that Narcissa was indeed not moving, her clothes torn, her body battered.

"Watch our backs!" Severus instructed, rushing to her and kneeling to gather her in his arms.

Harry saw red as it registered yet again that these bloody _animals_ were using their own pathetic fury at losing the war to fuel their cruelty towards the people he loved. He saw shadows of approaching figures dancing near the opening from the blast, and stood, waiting for someone to _give him a reason._ A set of three deadly hexes came through the opening, but they all went in the same direction the blast had gone. A foot, followed by a leg, stepped into the room, until finally the full figure of ex-auror McAnthony was in view and already casting a very powerful dismemberment hex directly at Harry. Harry caught it in _the open void_ and couldn't help the fact that his blasting hex broke McAnthony's wand arm. _At least I didn't vandalize his bloody wand,_ Harry seethed inwardly. He shot a pulse of magic at McAnthony's feet next, which swiped his legs roughly to the side and the ex-auror was on the floor a fraction of a second later, just in time to trip another wizard who was charging into the room too quickly to check his momentum. Now Harry imitated Severus' hogtying jinx from the graveyard for the second wizard, followed by a _lashio_ on McAnthony, which made the ex-auror bellow in discomfort.

_One to go,_ Harry thought, waiting with eyes glued to the opening in the wall.

"This way, Harry!" Severus called.

Harry cast a quick glance over his shoulder and saw that Severus was carrying the unconscious Narcissa towards a door farther beyond where she'd been lying. There was another, now fading, apparition briefly showing a stairwell leading to open land beyond. Harry took one look back at the felled wizards, and a step to follow Severus, and then….

_BOOM! BOOOOOM!_

Harry was flying backward, the blast stunning him enough that he was barely able to cushion his landing. From where he was sprawled on the ground, he saw Severus prop Narcissa upon a leg he'd braced on the stair, his wand arm now free to whip around as Severus twisted at the waist, and cast a spell that wrapped the third assailant up in what appeared to be duct tape, leaving only a small opening for his nose.

Harry scrambled to his feet and launched himself after Severus who was already running up the stairs with Narcissa. They raced out into the dark evening. Harry shot up a series of red sparks and turned to find Narcissa had awoken and had her face buried in Severus' neck, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, as she quietly begged him for something Harry couldn't hear.

"Return to the school," Severus said softly to Harry. "Tell Lucius that I'll be along with his wife in moments. Tell him only what you've seen." Severus' eyes filled. "The rest is hers to tell."

Harry's eyes filled too and he swiped at the first tear as he nodded and disapparated to the back stoop at Grimmauld Place.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"Lucius?" Harry called softly. He was unable to stop his eyes from filling and angrily swiped at them, trying desperately to hold it together for his pseudo guardian.

Lucius opened his eyes and looked Harry over. "Alright, Harry?" he asked gently. He knew the boy had news, and also knew he'd been through far too much strain today for it to not negatively impact his health. "You've got some cuts. You look like you're in pain, my lad."

Harry looked down at himself and realized he was coated in dust from the blast. He quickly cast a scourgify and then stepped closer to Lucius, taking the older wizard's hand. "We've got Narcissa," he whispered. "She's safe and maybe- ...maybe hurt, but she was alive and talking. Severus has her. She was in a really dirty room, like a basement. Severus said he'd bring her along in a moment." Harry looked anxiously at Lucius and saw the brutal truth hit the man. Harry squeezed his hand. "She'll be okay."

Lucius nodded and looked away for a moment before returning caring eyes to Harry. "Come, Harry, put your head here," he pulled his hand free from Harry's and tapped his own shoulder, then held the arm out so he could wrap it around Harry. "Stretch out," he directed as Harry lay beside him, head on the man's shoulder, deeply comforted by the close contact, and struggling to contain the wretched sobs that wanted to consume him. "Good lad." Lucius kissed his temple and squeezed him. "We've got Draco back as well. He'll be ill for a time, but he'll live."

"I want to go see him, too," Harry said.

"He's going to be in a magical sleep for several days," Lucius told him painfully. "He depleted his magic, trying to stay warm in the water all of that time." When Harry began to sob into his neck, Lucius moved his hand up to card through the boy's hair. "I know, son."

Harry pulled himself together quickly. This wasn't over. Hermione was still missing. He relished the closeness for a few minutes longer, and was falling into an exhausted sleep when he heard Narcissa's voice saying, "Hello, darling," at the same time as strong arms were turning him, and picking him up from the bed. Harry opened his heavy lids for a brief moment when Narcissa kissed his cheek as she squeezed by to get to Lucius.

It barely registered to Harry that he was being carried by Severus as he blearily watched Narcissa run her hand over Lucius' shorn hair and lean down to kiss her husband's lips. He'd never seen them kiss before, he realized dully. He could read the depth of their love for each other in that gesture, and a rush of relieved warmth spread through him as his eyes tried to roll up into his head.

"Here, Severus," Minerva was saying as she did something Harry could not see from behind his closed eyes. He heard the curtains slide and assumed he was about to be put into a bed. But that was not the case. Severus sat with Harry on his lap, and leaned back into a large, cushy armchair so that Harry could relax against his chest, head pressed under Severus' chin. The arm that had supported his legs now wrapped around his upper body and Harry was safe in a strong cocoon of comfort as he slipped into oblivion.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three - Failure To Thrive - Acts of Revenge - Part III

It was midnight, and there was a general feeling of unease in the infirmary, while next steps were still to be determined. With no way to trace Hermione Granger's whereabouts, and the Munson Estate having been completely contained, with no sign of Rabastan Lestrange, their only viable hope was Ron's Deluminator. Ron had been struggling to get something from it for the past couple of hours, since he and Neville had returned.

"All I can see is bloody leaves," he complained to Kingsley, Neville, Dean, Lee and the rest of the Weasley men who had all collected together again in the Hogwarts infirmary. "There is something beyond them, but I can't make it out."

"Stay with it, Ronnie," George advised.

But Ron's sense of urgency was as much fueled by his concern for the recovery of the survivors, as it was for Hermione. He looked around the infirmary, at the partitioned area of curtained screens that had been erected for privacy for Draco, Lucius, and Harry and Severus, to rest within magically silenced quadrants. Severus had clearly seemed to be more concerned with keeping watch over Harry than with getting any rest for himself. Narcissa was currently with Draco, where she'd been since having had a quiet reunion with her husband, after which he'd returned to the heavy sleep of oblivion, via the curse still inhabiting his leg. Of Narcissa's experience, they only knew that she and Hermione had landed side-by-side when their portkeys had taken them to the Munson Estate, but that Hermione had been taken away shortly afterward.

"The best thing about this scenario is that it's _Hermione,"_ Ron said after a moment to his audience. "She's wicked clever, and won't hesitate to act if she can find a way to escape."

There was a soft _pop_ and three Hogwarts elves appeared with numerous trays of sandwiches, pumpkin juice and desserts. The wizards all pounced on the food, including Ron, who scarfed down a few sandwiches before heading over to where the Headmistress was looking in on Severus and Harry. "Luna didn't want to come to the infirmary," Ron told Minerva in a soft voice.

"What was her condition, Ronald?" Severus called quietly over Harry's head. Ron craned his head around the opening in the curtain, and though his face registered that he was touched by the scene before him, he made no mention of it. "She'd been roughed up. I have a bad feeling," he said, and his mouth quivered slightly. "I called mum, and she and Fleur are with Luna at Harry's."

Severus nodded with a sadness he could not address with any practicality at the moment. "Well done," he told the ginger-haired wizard. He realized he and Harry needed to eat, to compensate for the magical drain their heavy dueling had cost them, so he gently began to rub Harry's back to wake him. The teen had slept in place on Severus' lap, not having stirred for nearly an hour, and Severus had been loathe to wake him any sooner than necessary. Minerva and Ron moved away from the entrance to their little cordoned off area. Harry jerked violently, and came awake with a gasp. Severus held onto him.

"You are safe, Harry," he said softly, waiting.

Harry relaxed back against Severus' chest as he slowly came back to the realities of the moment. "I'm awake," he said finally, and started to sit up.

Severus scooped an arm under Harry's legs and helped him slide over to sit in the small space of open cushion to their right. Once settled, the boy turned and wrapped his arms around Severus' torso, keeping his head ducked down so that his face was hidden. Not sure what was behind the embrace, Severus returned it with a tight squeeze. He was operating completely on instinct, and had been, since a voice in his head had said _comfort that boy, _when he'd seen Harry curled up with Lucius. He was concerned about the extent of the setback that all of the day's chaos would yield for Harry's health. However, he couldn't help but replay what had transpired so far and be anything but convinced that Harry Potter was one hell of a powerful and talented young wizard. So, he squeezed the boy again with both arms, saying, "You've impressed me immensely today, Harry. I can't imagine a smoother outcome to the circumstances we faced, nor would I wish to have been paired with any other wizard on the scene." He stretched his own legs out to allow better circulation. "We make a formidable team, do we not?"

Harry's heart was in his throat. He'd just been given the greatest compliment he could imagine from Severus Snape. He wondered what his younger self would think of such a departure from all that he'd known from his horrid professor. He had a brief fantasy of using a time turner and telling fifth-year Harry that Snape was going to become such an important part of his life. That the man would grow to _love_ him, and act like a caring father to him. He imagined the way fifth-year Harry would have responded. It would have been priceless. _It would have been life-altering. _He clenched his jaw against the confused emotion, and asked in a strained voice, "So, when we head out to fetch Hermione, you're going to want to stick with _me?"_

"Most certainly," Severus said. He didn't miss the signs of Harry's emotional struggle, but there was still a crisis at hand that had to be addressed first. "And with that in mind, you must eat as much as you can now. I myself am feeling quite a magical drain, and you, with your small stature, have to have depleted your reserves."

"I'm sure you're right," Harry said as he released his hold on Severus and turned to face forward.

As if on cue, Winky popped into their little quadrant with a tray that had legs, and settled it directly in front of them.

"Thanks, Winky," Harry said.

"And of course you know this elf, don't you?" Severus asked as the normally shy little creature beamed at the Boy Wonder.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

After a short time, Narcissa came in to see Harry. She gave him a warm smile, moved close to kiss his cheek again, then stepped back to face him, giving him a look that insisted he continue to eat. "I'm so very grateful to you, Harry. What would I have done without you and Severus?"

Harry blinked. "There was no other option," he said adamantly. "We _had to try_ to help. Are you feeling alright? You look wonderful, considering everything."

"I will be fine, darling," she said firmly, smiling in spite of the moisture that flooded her eyes. "You and Severus, and all of these wonderful people that have shown up to help, have _all_ made my life, and Lucius' life, and Draco's life, more rich and fulfilling than we could have ever hoped to have done on our own. With friends such as these, I can only feel hopeful."

"The Ministry had no record of you using your wand. Nor Lucius. Why?" Harry asked earnestly. "You would have been excused for protecting yourselves."

Narcissa sighed, and her expression betrayed more torment than she probably wanted it to. "We Malfoys were given a very valuable gift when we were spared time in Azkaban. It would be hypocritical to expect our sentencing to have special conditions that may not be applied to someone else under the same restrictions." Her face registered the closest thing to a smirk that Harry'd ever seen from her. "Although, be assured that Lucius will want to tell the tale of his wandless battle. I'm sure he was quite impressive, but alas, not even _he_ is powerful enough to last wandlessly against an equally powerful wizard with a wand _and_ a vendetta."

"Were you able to do anything to defend yourself?" Harry asked anxiously.

"I was. When Hermione and I first arrived at the estate, our wands were taken, and we were left in that dark basement together for about twenty minutes before she was dragged off, and I lost track of her. But before that, we were frantic, realizing we could only hope to defend ourselves by using wandless magic. Hermione has a fantastically practical mind. She'd made a few comments about how simple household charms could save a life, and that was all I needed to help me gather my sensibilities. We had not verbalized our plans to each other, but she'd reminded me of what I know how to do without a wand. I'm not certain I would have employed such a _creative_ use of my heating and cleaning charms otherwise."

She smiled a rather wicked smile at that, and Harry could feel heat rising into his face, even though he had no idea what she was referring to. Severus snorted somewhat uncomfortably beside him. Then, the former potions professor waved his wand and the tray before them disappeared.

They stood and Harry went to hug Narcissa. He waited while Severus embraced her as well, before asking, "And Draco?"

Narcissa sighed, stepping away from Severus. "Well, what's today? Early Saturday? Madam Pomfrey wants him in his current sleep stasis until Monday morning at least. I believe I'll be spending quite a lot of time in this infirmary, between my husband's and son's convalescence."

"I'll spell you, so will the others," Harry offered.

Narcissa sighed. "And perhaps between then and now, we can glean some information as to how my son came to fall for a Polyjuiced impostor. And how to counsel him as to why he should not feel tormented by such a revelation."

Harry gave her a pained look. "I'm really wishing Naomi _had been_ the myth I kept teasing him about."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus had waived his wand again and their curtained partition vanished. The rest of the infirmary came into view and Harry saw all of his friends gathered in two's and three's, talking quietly. He headed over to Ron and Neville.

"Anything?" he asked Ron as he returned the clap on the shoulder he received from Neville.

"It's completely mad, Harry," Ron said in frustration. "I know I'm seeing _something._ Maybe it's the view Hermione has from where she's stuck just now. But it's bizarre. I just see huge leaves, like there's an enormous branch in front of me. I see the night sky, but the leaves are blocking any other landmarks, so I just can't figure this out."

_"Bugger."_ Harry griped. It was easier to give into frustration than into terror for his best friend. He grabbed a few more sandwiches from a tray that kept replenishing itself as George, Lee and Dean came over to stand with them. "Did Madam Pomfrey get anything from Naomi's body?"

George shot a look at Ron, who shot a look at Neville, who answered Harry, "Turns out that Naomi was a bloke."

Harry felt his jaw drop open. _Oh, no._ "This is the last thing Draco needs," he said in a choked voice.

"Well, it's not like he's to be ashamed or anything, is it?" Neville said testily.

"'Course not!" Harry said, annoyed with the knowledge that this information could be used to torment his friend to no end. Harry knew Draco, and Draco would be terribly disturbed by this news, and would expect anyone else who knew to ridicule him. Harry looked at the group surrounding him. "No one will joke about it," he seethed.

George looked offended. "Not even I would be able to make a joke about that."

The others all just looked uncomfortable. It was sticky territory. Draco had certainly never done much to endear himself to any of these wizards, other than to be a good friend to Harry this past year. And the old Draco would have been the first to taunt anyone in this situation. _An unfortunate instance of 'what goes around comes around,_' Harry thought. But he was still worried.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

At approximately half one Saturday morning, Kingsley, Percy, and all of the deputies were losing momentum, and many were feeling the heaviness of exhaustion. They'd assigned aurors to interrogate the prisoners to find out where Hermione might be, to no avail. Even those that seemed to be willing to cooperate claimed to have no idea where Rabastan had gone with the young witch.

Right when it appeared that the Minister would make a decision to return the search to the aurors, the floo roared with green flame and Hermione stepped through. She looked disheveled, but completely intact. Harry and Ron tore over to her and the three hugged each other hard. There was a resounding response from all present that raised the volume substantially thoughout the infirmary.

So much had transpired in the twelve or so hours since the initial kidnapping, Harry had forgotten who knew what about whom, at this point. Hermione only knew who had been portkeyed away. Harry had to mentally step back within the sands of time to comprehend her relief at seeing him unharmed as she kissed his cheek and clung to him with her face pressed into his neck, while she struggled to hold onto her emotions. The rest of the group swarmed around the reunited Golden Trio.

"Are the others safe?" she asked fearfully. Tears sprang into her eyes, now that she would finally get the answer to the worry that had plagued her since she'd been whisked away. She did not resist the arm Minerva put around her.

"We've got everyone here now. You were the last," Kingsley hedged, to avoid the topic of impostor Naomi. "But there's still Rabastan to capture."

"That won't be too challenging," Hermione said with a disdainful tone. "He's rather _caught up,_ at the moment."

Harry could feel a smile pulling at his mouth in spite of the sudden cease of adrenaline he was experiencing. "Tried something inappropriate, did he?"

Hermione scrunched her nose. "He had my wand. I had no real choice," she said, as if she needed to defend her actions.

Harry looked at Minerva for a second and saw an extremely impressed expression settle itself on the elderly witch's face. He suddenly recollected the only spell that he knew Hermione could do without a wand. He could feel his face grow red, but had to laugh in spite of it. "Hermione's wandless trouser shrinking charm is awfully powerful," he said.

_"Awwhhhhh, uuurrggh,"_ the younger men all groaned in unison.

Hermione managed a teary smirk. She held Harry's gaze, and he knew she feared for the other women. He gave a tiny shrug to say, _I don't really know,_ and her face fell. He redirected her thoughts by asking, "We know you landed at first with Narcissa, and then you got separated. What happened to you after that?"

"That ex-auror, Smith, was incredibly smug with me. He… made some threats about me being passed around. But first, Rabastan was to have his fun with me," Hermione said. As if the words had caught up with her, she stopped and struggled to stay composed enough to finish. "I was in a completely dark place for what seemed like hours, and then Rabastan showed up and portkeyed us both to someplace he called the _Anti-Severus_ room…?" she paused to flash Severus a look of inquiry. He shook his head, arms crossed, expression pinched. Hermione continued, "It was there that I used my wandless tailoring spell on him." Now she coughed and giggled at the same time. "I know I can get shrill at times, but he hit a high note that I could _never_ match. I took his wand along with mine, and the portkey," she said, pulling both wands from her sleeve and holding Lestrange's out to Kingsley with another champagne glass. "I don't see how he can get himself out of there without it."

"How did _you_ get out?" Severus asked, and it was impossible to tell what might be behind the strain in his voice.

"I disapparated."

Severus spun on his heal and strode purposefully back to Lucius' bed, where his friend lay with a very disturbed expression on his face. "That anomaly in Spinner's End," Severus started. "I think it was Rabastan's doing all along. How could he possibly have had Hermione at Spinner's End?"

"Severus, do not impose these conundrums upon me when I cannot sit up straight to consider them," Lucius snapped. "Poppy? Madam Pomfrey?"

"That son of a bitch has staked himself out _on my property,"_ Severus said disdainfully. His mind was reeling at the implications of this, and not just because his wards should have been impenetrable.

Madam Pomfrey appeared and raised the mattress behind Lucius' back upward, so that he was nearly sitting. "If you feel pressure in your ribcage, stop me immediately," she said testily, as if he had exasperated her beyond measure.

Lucius managed a charming smile of gratitude for the medi-witch, but his attention was still on the conundrum. "It's not possible that he's breached your wards, Severus," he said, considering. Hermione, Ron, Minerva, and Harry had moved closer to join the conversation. "I was very afraid for you, my dear," Lucius told Hermione with a relieved expression. "Your escape merits recognition. I'm profoundly relieved to hear you are unscathed."

Hermione gave him a warm, but sad smile. "I believe Rabastan wanted me to know I was on Severus' property," she told him.

Lucius nodded. "There is a section, within the magical blueprint for his home that registers oddly. I had thought it an unplottable security area, but Severus has never known one to exist."

"It's likely either quite far below the ground, or it's high above your roof." Minerva interjected. "Is there a large tree on your property, Severus?"

"There is," Severus said. "But it's been maintained by the muggle ordinance for the city. I can't imagine it being able to sustain a magical sanctuary…." His eyes came up to meet Minerva's and then Hermione's. "Unless it is a tiny space that has been magically enhanced in the interior."

Lucius shook his head slowly. "I've never heard of such a thing," he admitted.

"It's an old practice, from my parents generation," Minerva said. "It requires a fairly simple series of spells, and a treetop that is not in jeopardy of trimming."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in amazement as the answer dawned on her, "The place was a room with one circular window that was actually a hole, with no glass. The walls were all unfinished wood. It was like a cube, but the roof was slanted. I couldn't see anything else in the room, ...except a _perch_. I was telling myself it was a decorative _beam,_ but it was a perch! He's in a tiny birdhouse, Severus!"

"That's why I kept seeing leaves," Ron declared in disgust. "He's in a bloody tree!"

"Riddle solved," Lucius murmured as he slipped back into exhausted sleep. Harry and Ron chuckled and headed back over to the sandwiches. Minerva seemed to think of something she needed to do.

"You say he's incapacitated?" Severus asked Hermione when they were alone beside the sleeping Lucius.

"Quite," she told him smugly.

Severus gave into the urge to embrace her, squeezing her hard enough, and for a moment longer than just a friend should do, to convey his relief that she was alright. She returned the gesture, and he realized she was trembling, so he held on a bit longer. "Are you injured?" he asked her quietly. He released her and stood back as she smiled grimly at him and shook her head.

"But I want a long bath, and a long sleep," she told him.

"At Grimmauld Place," Severus finished for her.

"Yes."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four - Failure To Thrive - Regrouping - Part I

Severus followed Hermione back toward the fireplace to see her off, but she spotted Narcissa and went to speak with her, just as Kingsley called him aside.

"I've no valid reason to employ deputies on the rest of the operation at this point," Kingsley told him. He held up a hand to ward off Severus' argument. "I've concluded that I have two options, and both are completely within the capabilities of the aurors I trusted with tonight's activities. I have to think about the court hearings that will follow, and the _letter of the law_ being brought to question by the defense."

Severus sighed heavily. "I agree," he said reluctantly. "I most definitely want this to be over for the victims. But the fact that that bastard Rabastan remains suspended from a tree above my home-"

"The _Anti-Severus room,_ yes," Kingsley snorted. "Not particularly impressive, that."

Severus relented and smiled slightly. "What are these two options you are considering?"

"Well, either way, we will cut him down from the tree," Kingsley told him, "and contain him in his sanctuary to transport him to the Ministry _Explosive Spell Reversal Room_. Option one would be to keep him stuck in there until hunger and bodily needs make him tell us the enchantments required to reverse the spells on the interior-"

"Which would cancel the magical expansion, and force his body to shatter the walls of his tiny home," Severus supplied. "An entirely acceptible solution."

Kingsley grinned. "Or, we will leave him in place and deconstruct it ourselves," he said. "Both have their risks, and the latter could result in spell reverberation that would of course endanger my aurors, but it is less questionable in the eyes of the courts, because it protects the prisoner's safety. I intend to sleep on it, extensively. I hope Lestrange won't be needing the loo." He clapped Severus on the shoulder. "I will keep you informed."

They shook hands and bade each other good night. Kingsley made a point of addressing Narcissa and Hermione, and Severus heard him say that he would seek them out for their statements in the next day or so. Severus checked in with Poppy about Lucius and was informed that she and Professor Flitwick had not yet found the curse that resided in the senior Malfoy's leg, but had identified a healing charm that would significantly reduced the drain on Lucius' strength, and also minimize the discomfort. She was in the process of measuring out his doses of Skelegrow, as he now would have enough magical strength to safely to heal his bones.

"He'll be on his feet tomorrow," Poppy said. "And he'll be able to move about normally. The curse will eventually need dealing with, but I'll leave that for another day. We will likely consult with St. Mungos. Now, with Draco, I'm less certain. I need to see how he is when I pull him out of his sleep. His magic may have suffered some damage that will take longer to repair."

"But his brain activity is normal?" Severus asked.

"It is," she confirmed. "He'll be back to his charming self in no time." Poppy had not interacted with Draco since sixth year, and he'd been at his personal worst with her that year, so her tone suggested she'd be happy for him to remain asleep.

Severus stepped closer and asked softly. "And Narcissa?"

"She suffered some bad bruising and minor cuts. She's nearly healed already," Madam Pomfrey said. She knew what Severus wanted to know, however. "She's more traumatized than physically injured, Severus."

He nodded that he understood and murmured his thanks. "And Harry?"

Madam Pomfrey gave him a sharp look. "The next forty-eight hours or so with tell with that. I'm hopeful, Severus. He has far more support in his life now than he ever had in the past, and that is a huge factor in the psychological aspects of the Syndrome. The physical ones remain more of a mystery. His injuries were minor, so as I said, I am hopeful."

OoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry joined the circle of deputized aurors in time to be told by Kingsley that their duties had been completed. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, being that he wanted to be certain Rabastan paid for having hurt Narcissa and scaring Hermione. But, he also figured that this way, there would be less chance that he'd take the law into his own hands again. After today, Harry knew he had no desire to have a career as an auror. But he did like the idea of being someone who could be called up to help, once in a while.

Severus made his way over to the group and shook hands with all of the fellow wizards who were now about to take their leave. Arthur announced that he'd like to host a gathering at the Burrow in a week, when the dust had settled, and they could all regale each other with their tales of battle. Harry caught Severus watching him during all of this and could see his concern. Something else was there as well, some sort of conflict. A very deep desire to go back to Grimmauld Place settled in, so Harry was one of the first to leave, right after Hermione.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

They stepped through into the parlor to find Molly waiting up for them. She fussed over Hermione for a short while, before shooing her off to bed. Severus lingered for a moment longer, but then seemed to realize Molly wanted to speak with Harry alone, so he excused himself as well. Harry wanted to ask about Luna, but resolved to wait until he could speak with her himself.

"I know Ginny had harsh words for you just before all of this occurred," Molly told Harry when they had the room to themselves. They were still standing, and she had her hands cupping his shoulders.

"Yeah," Harry said. He wasn't ready to discuss any of it, but he could tell that Molly had something to say to him, and by now knew there was no point in trying to avoid hearing her. "It feels like a lifetime has passed since then."

"I'm sure it does, dear," Molly said. "Harry, Arthur and I have had several long discussions on the matter of our own grudges against Lucius Malfoy."

Harry nodded dully, hating to hear this. He remembered quite clearly how Lucius had treated the whole Weasley family in the past, and especially how antagonistic he'd been to Arthur.

"After Ron told us about the way that locket horcrux had affected him," Molly continued, "enough to turn his back on his two dearest friends, we've had to take into account that the diary likely had the exact same qualities."

Harry bit his lip. "I don't remember it being as _vile,"_ he said in all honesty. "It was far more subtle. I think it raised alarms for me back then because of the way my scar hurt, but otherwise, I was just as easily influenced as Ginny. I imagine it fed right into all of Lucius' prejudices while he had it."

Molly pressed her lips together. "I have _a lot_ of anger at that man," she declared. "But he's managed to gain both Hermione's and Ron's confidence, and Merlin knows he got through to you when none of the rest of us could. And, Arthur seems to be continuously faced with coming to his family's aid. It's as if the gods are asking us to make some concessions."

"He didn't even use his wand to fight Rodolphus," Harry told her. "Narcissa told me that none of them want to be treated with any more privilege than any of us would be afforded, and they're taking their probationary restrictions to heart. They're all trying, Mrs. Weasley."

"That much has been very clear to Arthur," Molly agreed. She slid her hands down to take Harry's in hers. "We both witnessed the confrontation between you and Ginny, and how Lucius was right there for you, right away." Harry just nodded uncomfortably. "Harry, Ginny does not speak for the rest of us, alright dear?"

"She is completely right to be angry with me," Harry said. "I can easily see that. I can see myself reacting the same exact way under different circumstances." His breathing became agitated as his old sense of abandonment returned. "But she and I could never really see things the same way because she has always had something that I don't. She has always known where she belongs, when all is said and done. She is a Weasley."

"We've considered you one of us all along, Harry," Molly said emphatically.

"I know," Harry told her quickly. "But you weren't able to help me in the ways I needed the most, right at the time that _not having that help_ really messed me up. And I know that was because of Dumbledore, and all of the laws, and manipulated circumstances. But when the dust settled, I didn't feel like I belonged with the Weasleys. I felt our strong friendship, and always will, but for me, it doesn't really feel like _family."_ He looked beseechingly at her for understanding and found her nearly in tears. "Maybe if things could have worked with Gin and me, and I could get past this syndrome and be a normal person, then I'd feel differently."

"There is nothing about you that is not normal, dear." she chided. "Arthur and I love you like a son. We are heartbroken that Ginny has rejected you. We wanted a wedding between you two one day to finally officially have you in the family."

Harry covered his face with his hands. All of this was just making him feel more guilt and conflict. "I don't know what to say to that," he whispered, trying not to give into tears.

"You don't have to say anything, dear," Molly said. "I just want you to know where you will always stand with the Weasleys."

She hugged him. "You'd best try to get some sleep, Harry. This whole day of drama can't be good for your health."

"Yeah alright," Harry agreed. When she'd disappeared into the floo network, he sat heavily back on the sofa and felt the return of _the heaviness._ This time is was all consuming, and the force of it made him flop back against the cushions, eyes on the flames.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"You need rest, Harry," Severus chided from the doorway sometime later.

Harry kept his eyes on the flames. "I won't sleep tonight, and I'll just get frustrated with tossing and turning if I go to bed." He'd watched the older wizard approach him through the corner of his eye, and flinched involuntarily when Severus seemed to reach down to take him by the arm.

Severus froze, then stood straight. "I was going to ask you to perform a healing charm-"

Harry blinked. "Uh, yeah, sorry," he looked up at Severus and realized the older wizard was dressed for bed, in flannel sleep pants and loose t-shirt. He had a sweatshirt tossed over his shoulder and a jar of salve in one hand. "I don't know any healing charms, though."

"Which is why I had you in mind," Severus said. "I will teach you the one to use with this bruise paste." He held the jar out to Harry and pulled his T-shirt over his head, sitting at an angle so that his back was to Harry.

"Uh, Severus?" Harry said, not just a little bit awed by the view of his former professor's rather well defined back. "What you ought to do is have Hermione heal you. I think she'd benefit from seeing how yoked you are."

"Mr. Potter," Severus said, clearly attempting to sound stern, but amusement won out. "I have asked you to do it for precisely that reason. There is a time and a place for such things, and it is not here and now."

_"Pfft,"_ Harry tsk-ed sarcastically, opening the jar. "I sat through your classes with her for six years. I _know_ she always had a thing for you, and she still does."

"I am not interested in having this discussion with you, young man," Severus said more firmly. "She and I have already addressed the subject. It is not yet time. Understand?"

"Yeah," Harry said in a put out tone. "So how do I do this, then?"

Severus instructed Harry on applying both the salve and the sing-song healing charms to the three rather brutal abrasions he'd suffered while he'd dueled Rodolphus. He was not oblivious to Harry's demeanor, which was coming across as superficial. But the boy had been concerned that Severus had been walking around with these injuries nearly the whole day. Severus had dismissed Harry's worries with a flip comment about having a high pain threshold. When the healing efforts were concluded, he put his T-shirt and sweatshirt on and turned to face the boy. "Returning to the subject of your sleep," he said. Harry sighed and was already back to staring sullenly at the fire. Severus rolled his eyes. "I suggest you go take a hot shower and put on pajamas. If that doesn't relax you enough for bed, then come back down here and glower into the fireplace again."

Harry turned to give him an unreadable look. They stared at each other while Harry debated his willingness to cooperate, and cooperation won out. Harry left to do as he was told, and Severus transfigured a couple of the cushions so that he could partially recline on the sofa and commence studying the flames himself, realizing he wouldn't be likely to sleep until his mind had processed the day's events from all angles.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

When Harry returned to the parlor, he had indeed relaxed and had also grown very quiet. He circled around the table and crawled over the cushions to sit beside his former professor, and allowed himself to be wedged in between Severus and the sofa back. The strong arm that had known exactly when he needed comfort throughout the day's drama was now draped heavily over his shoulders. The flames danced and Harry stared, and instead of fretting, his mind actually quieted a bit. _This is what safe feels like._

"Will you tell me what you've been pondering in your quiet moments since Hermione returned?" Severus asked quietly.

Harry kept his eyes on the flames. "I was just remembering things, and having sentimental thoughts, I guess."

Severus ignored the way his stomach tightened. "Were you thinking of your godfather?"

Harry nodded. He didn't have to look at Severus to know this wasn't a pleasant subject for him. "I don't really know how to explain it. I just kind of wish I could tell him about how you and I teamed up today, and how great it was. It's stupid, because neither one of you would want me to, but…"

"Tell me," Severus said softly, feeling the sudden tension in Harry's body from where he sat so close by.

"It just meant a lot to me, Severus," Harry said, and his voice broke. He wanted to tell Severus that he'd reached _damned near to god status_ today in Harry's eyes. But that thought made him remember how close Sirius had come to the same thing, and that brought an intense flash of heartbreak.

"I believe I understand what you are saying," Severus said.

"I know it's a fantasy," Harry said roughly. "But there were so many times when I was younger that I wished for-" he couldn't say it. It just plain hurt too much to go there.

"What did you wish for?"

_"This."_ Harry said. He swiped at his eyes and grabbed Severus's arm as it crooked around his neck to hug him. _"I just really needed this."_

"And you should have had it, Harry," Severus said. He rested his chin on Harry's head for a while until the boy had composed himself. "And you do have it now. I can't think of anything that has ever mattered to me more than _this."_

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

The clock on the mantle read half three in the morning. The two dark haired wizards continued to study the flames in a comfortable silence.

"George collected some memories from me," Harry said after a long while. "He said he's ready to do a demonstration with the cubic pensive."

"He is," Severus confirmed. "He'd finished a prototype just before Fred's memorial. I've yet to see it, but have a fair idea of how it will work."

"He said he was only allowing memories from post-Voldemort times. He went in to see Lucius, too." That thought made Harry smile. "Ten galleons says that we will get to see the _Lucius verses Rodolphus showdown."_

That made Severus chuckle. "I'd actually pay real money to see that."

"Ginny gave me the shove-off. Did you know?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I did not," Severus said. "Was that just before you were whisked away? I saw that you were off-kilter right then. Lucius too."

"Yeah," Harry said. "She's angry with me for becoming friends with him. She feels like I betrayed her by not continuing to hate him for the diary and the Chamber of Secrets," he bit his lip for a moment. He scooted out of the tight space he was in and turned himself so that he could see Severus. "When she told me, I felt horrible. I still don't like that she's so furious with me. But I feel like I've already let it go."

"Continue," Severus told him.

"Well, I feel like I had no real choice. I needed help, and Lucius knew it, and he _got through to me."_ Harry said. He frowned and shook his head. "Why do I have to apologize for that?"

"You don't," Severus said simply. "You've made an extraordinarily evolutionary step in your life by forgiving Lucius, Harry. And to your credit, not many people are able to do something so valiant. Ginevra Weasley is not a bad person. She is rightfully angry. But it is a choice to hold onto that anger, and by doing so, she is allowing it to handicap her. And indeed it has done just that. She's lost you."


	25. Chapter 25

_**A/N Hi, everyone. This is on the short side. Sorry! I've been slammed with work. I still have some fun scenes in mind to put into the next few chapters, but as of today, I am thinking I may be winding down with this story... Any unfulfilled wishes out there? Have I left unfilled voids?**_

Chapter Twenty-Five - Failure To Thrive - Regrouping - Part II

It was nearly dawn when Harry finally figured he could sleep. Severus had just "hit a wall," and would have succumbed to deep slumber while sitting up, if Harry hadn't announced he was going to bed. They walked up the stairs slowly, whispering about whether they would need to go to the Ministry or the infirmary later in the day. Severus squeezed Harry's shoulder and kissed the top of his head when they reached the third floor.

"Goodnight, Brat," he said as he continued on up the stairs.

"Are you just now going to bed, Harry?" Luna asked softly from down the hall.

"Luna," Harry whispered softly. He headed over to her. "I've been so worried about you," he said gently when he was closer. She was walking towards him too, and in the dim light looked somewhat vulnerable. "Did you get hurt? Can I hug you?" Harry had no idea how to read the smile Luna gave him until she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She even placed a light kiss on his neck… which felt _fantastic._ Harry stood there, more than a tad befuddled by what exactly it was that he was receiving from Luna. The embrace felt lovely, so he made no move to end it and hooked his chin over her shoulder, for once hugging someone smaller than himself. Besides, she smelled like lemongrass, and that was one fragrance he could never get tired of.

"Ron and Neville assured me you were just fine, but I am glad to see it for myself," she told him.

"Did it help to have Fleur come by to talk?" Harry asked carefully.

"Oh yes," Luna said. "I took it all harder than I normally do. Not sure why."

"Maybe it's because it's the anniversary of everything? I was feeling really heavy about all that, still am," Harry offered.

"Yes," she said softly. "But I liked having Fleur to talk to. She's very _matter of fact _about things. It helps."

"Do you need to see a healer, Luna?" Harry asked, even more carefully.

"Oh, no," she said. She was pulling away, so Harry released her. "I didn't get hurt, Harry." She tilted her head as she said this and the corners of her mouth raised up.

"Well, that's great!" Harry said. Too late to backpedal, he stopped beating around the bush. "It's just that the Lestranges are notorious for the horrible things they do to women, so…."

"Oh, well, the boys that were waiting for me when I landed were very sorry to have bothered me by the time I was finished with them," Luna said. She leaned closer. "I know how to look after myself. I learned from the best."

Harry grinned at her. "George is collecting memories to show in his new cubic pensieve. Will you let him have yours, so we can see for ourselves just how you handled things?"

"Alright," she said "You go ahead and sleep now, Harry. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Harry said. He didn't really feel tired all of the sudden, but also didn't know what else to do in this unexpected scenario. He settled for squeezing her hand the way she'd always done to his over the years, and headed back down the hall to his room.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry woke up at noon to a growling stomach. He still felt tired, so he kept his pajamas on and headed down the stairs to see if Kreacher had anything on hand for him to eat. Hermione was in the kitchen, sipping tea and reading through some notes.

"Harry," she greeted him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, actually," he said, giving her a tired smile. "But I'm still a bit fatigued." He nodded in answer to the inquiring look he got from Kreacher.

"Well, that might be because you stayed up all night," she chided with a smirk.

"Obviously you've seen Severus," he said. "Did he go back to bed?"

"No, Kingsley sent a patronus to tell us he was at Hogwarts to take official statements from Lucius and Narcissa, and said we could go there too, or that he'll come by here tomorrow. Luna decided to go see him now. Severus went too, just a couple of minutes ago, to check on the Malfoys. They've got to be really worried about Draco."

"Yeah," Harry said softly. "I am too. I was going to go sit with him for a while. I'll catch a nap first, then go later, before dinner."

"He's asleep, Harry," Hermione said. "You should take the chance to get your own rest."

Harry gave her an exasperated look. "Thank you, mummy," he said sarcastically. Then when she frowned at him in frustration, he was suspicious. "Hang on, what have you been told that I have not?"

Now she glared at him. "Nothing. It's just common sense, for Merlin's sake. You're suffering from a syndrome that came on from intense trauma and tragedy. You just recently started to show real signs of improvement. Aren't you worried that yesterday's events will cause a setback?"

Harry blinked. "No," he said in complete honesty. "Hermione, between Lucius and Severus, I've gotten more attention and felt more protected than I've- … well, than _ever._ I mean, I can only go by how I feel right this moment, but I think I'm okay about the whole thing. And even though I was really, really scared while everything was happening, I didn't go through it alone."

"Ron said Severus really looked out for you," Hermione told him.

"Yeah," Harry said. "But he also relied on me to hold my own when we were fighting the Lestranges. He trusts my magical skill that much."

"I see," Hermione said, thoughtfully, and Harry could tell by the way her eyes teared up that she knew exactly how much that meant to him. "It kind of balances out the hardship."

"Exactly."

She gave him a crooked smile. "And what about getting called out for snapping wands?" she tried not to laugh, but was losing the battle as Harry turned beet red.

"Totally worth it," he said, ignoring entirely the fact that his complexion was contradicting him. "Bloody Normal Thickeness. I showed him what was what."

Now Hermione laughed. "Please tell me you gave that memory to George."

"Of course," Harry said. Kreacher set a plate of French toast in front of Harry and a glass of orange juice. He thanked the elf and tucked hungrily in.

"And, so what happened with Ginny?" Hermione asked.

Harry recapped the confrontation, and the blatant non-verbal announcement that she'd gotten back together with Michael Corner. "It was actually really well timed," Harry said. "All of the drama that happened next kind of took the wind out of that bag." He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're going to say you saw it coming for ages, aren't you?"

"Well, I was hoping I was wrong, wasn't I?" she said a tad shrilly. "Poor Ginny has had it rough too, Harry. A different kind of rough, but it's been really hard for her as well."

"I know," he said softly. "I hate to think of her feeling so badly and not having been there for her."

"You weren't able to be," Hermione said. "It's just the way the cards were dealt, Harry. You cared for her, loved her, I imagine, but you weren't available to be what she needs." She put her elbows on the table and leaned in. "Ginny has a rebellious streak, and she wants to be reckless now and then. That's just not who you are. It's not a good match any more."

"I know," Harry said again. "It's over. I'm okay about it." His thoughts wandered to Luna. And then Neville. "So, was it just me, or doesn't Neville have a thing for Luna?"

"I thought he did," Hermione said slowly, "but now I'm thinking it's just loyal friendship. I think Neville has someone else in mind for himself."

"Hermione, what are you not saying?" Harry knew when she attempted to hedge around a subject.

"I'm not saying anything because I only have suspicions, and no proof whatsoever," she declared.

Harry gave her a pleading look that turned into a frown, then into an _a-ha._ "He likes _blokes."_

"I actually think he likes either sex, Harry," Hermione said. "But like I said, it's just a hunch. I've no proof."

"Huh," Harry said.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooo

Lucius stood in the hallway outside of the infirmary with Arthur and Kingsley. Neither of the Ministry officials had commented on Lucius' attire, although he knew they badly wanted to. He'd asked Narcissa to bring him fresh clothing and she'd shown up with his most faded jeans, a white T-shirt, and a navy cotton sweater. His black boots completed the ensemble that Narcissa clearly enjoyed seeing him wear, which was at this moment the ultimate proof of his paradigm shift.

"The incident with the aurors on Tuesday last was not entirely unexpected, although we'd no idea how things would play out, or with whom," Arthur told Lucius. "Wesley Rothchilde was under surveillance by some of our more senior aurors for suspicious activity and abuse of his authority. We knew he was up to something complex, so we promoted him to Commander with full expectation that he would be way too tempted to accelerate his plan, and would grow careless. He'd been diligently covering his tracks, but we'd finally traced him, and connected him to his cohorts only this past Thursday. The intelligence had linked Rothchilde and six others to a group posing as American wizards visiting Britain's muggle universities. We immediately drew a connection to Hermione Granger, and were literal steps away from connecting Naomi Butler as well. We now know that Naomi Butler was portrayed by a man named Morris Black, whom I am fearful is of some relation to your wife's family."

Lucius closed his eyes. "I've failed my son in so many ways, but this is insurmountable." He did not elaborate on his thoughts, but looked at the two officials. "How much of this will go public?"

"We will try to keep it on the down low, Lucius," Kingsley said. "I will demand to keep the hearings closed, and we might just prevent the_ Prophet_ from starting an exposé on the key players, eh?"

"Of course, Minister," Lucius said quietly. "Please act in accordance with the standard. I truly do not wish for more than that."

"That is all I guarantee," Kingsley said, his deep baritone revealing a hint of sympathy.

"Arthur," Lucius looked his former adversary in the eye, "you must be very proud of your children. They're each in their own right _very _skilled, and _very _powerful wizards. Not to mention that they are each honorable and kind. They take after their parents in that regard."

"I am proud," Arthur said. "However, it's always nice to hear such high praise from a new source."

"Don't you mean an _unlikely _source?" Lucius with a tiny smile of self deprecation. But his expression grew grim with shame. "It's poetic justice, isn't it?" Lucius asked, completely failing to prevent the flood of moisture in his eyes as he looked at his former adversary.

Arthur shook his head and said firmly, _"No."_ But their eyes held and he relented, holding his thumb and forefinger up to show a small measurement. "Perhaps just a smidgeon."

Lucius sniffed and blinked his eyes to contain his emotions. "Then all may just finally be right with the world."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six - Failure To Thrive - Regrouping Part III

The four current residents of Number 12, Grimmauld Place managed to not cross paths with each other for the next twenty-four hours. Harry had slept like the dead for most of Saturday and then, of course, had had trouble sleeping through the night. Now it was Sunday, and after lazing around his bedroom for most of the day, he was off to have dinner with the Malfoys. Tonight they'd be dining at Hogwarts beside Draco's bed, for hopefully the final night of the induced sleep. Tomorrow Madam Pomfrey would bring him out of it, and they'd know more about his condition, although no one seemed particularly worried about his physical recovery.

Harry nearly collided with Severus as he headed into the parlor to use the floo. "Sorry," Harry smirked at the grunt of surprise and frown of having been induced to grunt on his former professor's face.

"Are you heading out?" Severus asked.

"It's Sunday," Harry said. At Severus' nod of _Ahh,_ he asked the older wizard, "Have you seen Luna today?"

"She told me earlier that she was going to spend some time at her house, but would return to sleep here tonight," he tilted his head. "She will be staying here for a time?"

"Yes, sir, I've been after her for most of the past year to stay here when her father travels," Harry told him. "She's easy to have around, and I thought it would be nice for her to have some company too. She finally agreed because of the kidnapping, I think."

"Hmmm," Severus said. Now he smirked at how completely obtuse Harry could be as the boy gave him a wave and disappeared into the green flames.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

There was a lovely streak of sunlight keeping Hermione just comfortable enough to feel lazy, and she'd been lounging in the backyard with a book for over an hour when a tall, lean shadow cast itself over her. "Hello, Severus," she smiled up at him from the chaise longue she'd transfigured into more of a reclined bench. "Care to join me?"

Severus looked at the rather intimate, small space she was suggesting he share with her. "That will be quite cozy, you realize?" But he was already moving to take the proffered seat, and in a moment was sitting hip-to-hip beside her, with his arm around her shoulders.

"Quite cozy." Hermione chuckled softly and leaned into his side, which felt both familiar and exhilarating. And safe.

"How have you been, since the other night?" he asked quietly.

"I've been… struggling," she admitted.

"Hmmm, as have I," he told her. "That moment when each of you was pulled away from my reality induced several very different types of terror for me."

"I know exactly the terror you mean." She said shakily. "It's very unsettling. And unsettled is not a feeling I thought I'd be revisiting, at least not so soon after the Final Battle."

"I believe it is safe to say that with the extended coverage of our dramatic experience in the _Prophet,_ the wizarding population will likely now know, without question, that each of the targets can take care of him- or her- self. In case there are preparations underway for more mayhem."

"Well, there's that," Hermione conceded with a tone of irony. "Although, I wasn't particularly concerned that such a message needed to be conveyed."

"Aside from my own near coronary arrest, I am under the impression that no one but Lucius suffered any physical injury, although I'd feared that Narcissa had."

"She was upset because she'd let her fear paralyze her for a short time," Hermione explained. "Rabastan got rather lewd before her defenses kicked in. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how feisty she is at heart."

"You do not," Severus agreed, still feeling relieved to hear further confirmation that his longtime friend had not been defiled.

"When she and I realized we had been kidnapped, and were initially afraid for our lives, she got right down to business and told me that if I came through it alive, that I should waste no more time about - her words - _laying my claim _on you. She told me not to hesitate, that she knew you well enough to know you would reciprocate."

"Clearly she and Harry have the same agenda," Severus said with some amusement, and some tension, the good kind.

They sat in silence, but the close proximity was distracting.

Severus moved his arm down over hers and tugged her closer, and she turned into his side so that that strong arm would envelope her more fully. Hermione stretched her own arm across his chest and squeezed. She could hear the rapid response of his heartbeat to her touch, and realized she was losing the battle to restrain herself around him. "My inner monologue at the moment is on the subject of how short life is," she said. "And what's yet to be said between the two of us."

"Indeed," Severus murmured, and he was unable to stop his hand from cupping her face and tilting it upward so that he could duck his head down and kiss her deeply. The intense response that flared between them was both sweet and powerfully arousing, and they were each helplessly swept away. At some point, several minutes later, above the roar of his pounding heart and her gasps for breath, he realized she had somehow straddled his lap and was now framing his face with both of her hands, leaning in for a second kiss. He couldn't possibly have controlled his own hands from sliding up her thighs and cupping her hips, pulling her down so that he could fully feel her against him.

Hermione broke the kiss with a sharp gasp, and pulled far enough away so that they could really see each other. She was openly shocked at the ache he was inducing in her. After a few rasping attempts to catch her breath, she gave him crooked smile and said tremulously, "I think it's safe to say that we now _know_ what we're missing while we wait for Harry to recover."

Severus took her hands and pressed them over his heart, trapping them beneath his, while he closed his eyes and attempted to reclaim his senses. It took several minutes, but he eventually succeeded, and opened them again to find hers oddly tearful and amused at the same time. "Hermione," he said roughly. "This is more than friendship to me."

"I know," she said softly. "For me too. It has been for a very long time." She smiled a very smoky smile for him. "I can wait to really begin with _us,_ Severus. I've witnessed how transforming it has been for you and Harry to grow close. I see a wholeness in you, and I _want_ you to have that, for _just you,_ and with Harry. I've had my own version of it with him since I was twelve. I know how much it matters, and how special he is. He'll grow back to his proper age sooner than we think, knowing Harry. And then, just when you realize he's not a boy, but a man, and your heart starts to break a little bit-"

"You'll straddle me - exactly as you are doing now, and kiss me senseless," he finished for her.

The expression on his face made Hermione have a flash of insight of what it might feel like to _swoon. Severus Snape wants me, _she thought in amazement. "Yes," she promised. "Exactly like this." There was that ache again, the one that left her breathless and struggling to stay coherent, and it certainly wasn't going to subside while she maintained the intimate contact, so the next few moments were spent with Hermione reseating herself, this time sideways on Severus' lap and curling into his embrace. And just relaxing.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry returned to the infirmary Monday morning, and found Lucius pacing nervously. "What's wrong?" he asked in alarm.

Lucius stopped to consider Harry for a moment. "What do you imagine Draco's response will be to the news that Naomi was actually a distant male cousin?" he asked in a tense voice.

Harry gulped. "I imagine he'll have a really hard time with it. But we'll help him, alright?" He took in the ensemble that Lucius had on today: black jeans, fitted black turtleneck jumper and black boots. He'd already magically regrown his hair. Unable to suppress an odd combination of humor and awe, Harry shook his head and grinned at the floor.

"And what is amusing to you at a time like this, hmmm?"

"I think you know by now that you look downright cool in muggle clothes, Lucius," Harry smirked.

"Well, it's Narcissa's doing, thanks to you, I might add," he said in his usual reserved tone, but a smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad you're here, Harry-"

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, now that you're sufficiently recovered and stylized, let's wake your son, shall we?" Madam Pomfrey cut him off in her usual brisk manner, scooting past Harry and Lucius, bustling right on into Draco's privately partitioned area.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he followed Lucius, who'd indulged in one of his classic sneers of displeasure at having been interrupted before turning on his heel to follow the mediwitch.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Draco came out of the deep sleep as if he was still struggling to surface from the depths of the frigid lake, dragging in deep gulps of air, eyes bulging, and pallor turning blue.

"Easy, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey coaxed. "You're safe. You've been asleep to replenish your magic."

Narcissa smoothed a hand over his hair, as Lucius said in a gravelly voice, "Welcome back, son."

Draco's eyes shot over to Harry's and there was no doubt he already knew about Naomi, and also realized that everyone else did too. "Ugh, why didn't you just let me drown?" he groaned.

_"Draco!"_ both of his parents scolded, not impressed that the blond teen was already wallowing in self pity. "Be careful what you wish for, young man," Lucius warned sternly.

"Go ahead, Potter, say it," Draco said miserably, completely unperturbed by his father's chastisement.

"Say what? I'm glad you're okay?" Harry asked. "Well, I am, so quit your grumbling, junior."

Madam Pomfrey had been casting diagnostic charms in the meantime. "You're quite well, Draco. Let's see how you do with a meal, and get you up and dressed. If you still show these readings in a couple of hours, I'll send you home with your parents." She bustled out, calling over her shoulder. "I'll have a tray sent up in about thirty minutes. That should give you time to assemble yourself."

"We'll leave you to your privacy," Narcissa said, and led Lucius out of the room. Both of them cast concerned looks at their son, but he was oblivious.

"Stay, Harry," Draco said softly. He pushed back his covers and got to his feet, looking around for his clothes. Harry tossed them over to him and plopped down on the nearby chair. "Will you cast a freshening charm or two on me?" Draco asked. "I'll wait to shower at home."

"Sure," Harry said, and used his wand to deliver the best charm alternative to a real shower on the other wizard several times. "I'm dying to know how in the world you survived in that lake, you know," he said.

Draco pulled on the jeans his mother had brought for him. "That's _not _what you want to know," Draco said bitterly. "And I completely deserve what's coming. That's the worst of this. It's total payback, and I've no one to blame but myself." He stopped his rant as a thought occurred to him. "What happened to her- er, _him?"_

Harry paled. He hadn't been expecting to be the one to tell Draco, but he wasn't going to lie to his friend. "Dead," he said softly. "He fought with Dean, and… lost." Draco's expression remained stoic. "When did you realize? about her- er, _him?"_

"I suspected she'd- _bugger! -he'd_ been behind the attack from Blaise and Raj. There was just no other explanation," Draco told him. He'd finished dressing and sat on the bed with his pajamas balled on his lap. He cast his miserable eyes back on Harry. "When I was honest with myself, I knew something was really off about the whole relationship. And once, I thought I saw a glamour slip, but then it was back." He shook his head as he realized he'd played right into the whole deception. "I avoided seeing Naomi again until the memorial because I'd already invited her to come, but I was going to break it off. Next thing I know, I'm being portkeyed into cold liquid nothingness, and just before I was pulled away, I saw the glamour fall again."

Harry pinched up his face, as if the whole subject stank. "She was a bloody bloke," he confirmed. "No one guessed, Draco. We were all shocked, and all worried about how you would take it." At Draco's look of doubt, Harry glared at him. "You have better friends now. They're not the kind who would ridicule you when you're down. Everyone was worried that you'd not only had your heart broken, but that you'd be really upset about all of it. But no one thinks any less of you."

Draco sighed. "Everything is such a mess, _still,_ and it's been a whole year." He was looking meaningfully at Harry. "Tell me honestly, Harry," he said, his voice breaking. "How can you have forgiven Father, and Severus, for all of the nasty things they did to you? I need to know, because I am trying _really hard_ not to blame Father for this, but none of it would have ever happened if he'd been a different sort of wizard, when _I_ needed him to be." His eyes filled and he pressed his lips together, ducking his head down.

"It's not entirely about forgiving," Harry admitted softly. "It's mostly about letting things go. And it's really hard at first. You have to tell him how you feel. He already knows it, Draco. He knows his choices made your life horrible. If _you_ tell him, you'll be confirming his worst regrets, but at least it will be out in the open. After that, you have to make yourself hold onto the stuff that's really good about him. It gets much better, then."

"But you still hold grudges against Severus," Draco said after he'd gotten control of his voice again. "You won't do potions with him."

Harry clenched his jaw. "Like I said, it's really hard. But I'm trying, and it helps a lot that he's so bloody cool now. And so's your dad. I mean, did you see what he's wearing?" Draco rolled his eyes, unimpressed. Harry leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "We're really lucky, Draco. Both of them have changed so dramatically that… well, this conversation would be pointless if they hadn't, right?"

"Yeah," Draco said.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Missives from the Ministry sailed through the floo at Number 12 Grimmauld Place on Tuesday morning, one for each of the four current residents. Harry caught them as he passed by to head down to the kitchen, and his stomach clenched. Why were they being called to a hearing for Draco? He read through his Request to Appear, and saw that the fine print said the hearing had been called to record group testimony on the events at the 1st Year Memorial, and was to begin within the hour. A sense of dejà-vous settled in as flashes of memories of being called a liar for claiming there had been dementors in Little Whinging came to mind. _Just like fifth year,_ he thought.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

The collection of assembled witnesses included everyone who'd participated in the rescue efforts after the kidnapping. Harry couldn't help the tension gathering in his shoulders as he looked around at all of his friends, and then at Draco, who was as white as a sheet. He automatically feared the worst. Even the squeeze to his shoulder from Severus didn't really help. Harry was seated between Luna and Hermione in the front row, along with Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco. Severus was directly behind him, along with all of the Weasley men, Neville, Dean, Lee, and the aurors.

"Call to order," a loud voice projected over the already silent room. The Wizengamut filed in and sat in their arena style places.

Madam Warlock of the High Counsel of the Wizengamut, Amelia Bones, went straight to the podium to begin the hearing. "Welcome to each of you, and thank you for making an effort to be here. I sincerely apologize for the last minute notice. We were waiting for confirmation from Magical Law Enforcement that Rabistan Lestrange had been liberated from his miniature dwelling." She paused to look over her glasses at Percy, who nodded agreement that the information was correct. "I would like to take this time to introduce the new Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Percival Weasley. He's the youngest and likely the brightest to hold the position, and has already demonstrated unfaltering competence in his leadership of this whole debacle you each experienced during our memorial." She cast her glance over the entire first row before raising her hand to gesture for Percy to stand up and they all clapped for him.

Harry had to smile, as he clapped for the middle Weasley brother. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a rotten day, after all.

"To continue, I have also deliberately named Draco Malfoy as a focus of this hearing because I intend to address some circumstances that are no longer appropriate. Mr. Draco Malfoy, will you please stand?"

Draco stood and squared his shoulders just enough to convey respect for the court without his usual haughtiness.

"Mr. Malfoy, will you please describe what you experienced from the moment you touched the champagne glass at the Memorial?"

"Yes, Madam Warlock. I was portkeyed to a destination that was deep underwater, in the middle of a massive lake. I swam to the surface only to find I was miles from land in all directions." Draco said. His voice was strong, but Harry could tell by the way he clamped his arms to his sides that he was terrified.

"You had your wand with you, did you not?" Madam Bones asked.

"Yes, Madame Warlock," Draco said.

"But the only spells you cast were warming charms, and one bubblehead charm, which our Deputy Minister is quite convinced is the reason you are still living," Madam Bones told him. "Why did you not use other spells?"

Draco clenched his jaw. "I'm on probation, and I didn't want to risk breaching my restrictions," he said, adding quickly. "I'm not complaining. I'm quite grateful to have been granted such a lenient sentence."

"And this was not the first time you refused to risk such a breach, even in the face of danger, is that correct?" she inquired.

Draco cast a frightened look at Harry, but returned his attention to the court as he nodded. "Yes, Madam Bones."

"Mr. Malfoy, it is quite clear that you understood your sentencing, and that the intention of the court when it was given to you was that you make dramatic changes in your behavior and in your life in general. You have demonstrated an admirable commitment to these terms, and as it was also the opinion of this court that you might not have engaged in some of the less admirable acts during Voldemort's reign of terror, had you not been put in such a position by virtue of your father's affiliations. It is the judgement of this court that as of now, you have served your sentence in its entirety, and your magical restriction is removed. You may now begin your adulthood, Mr. Malfoy. I believe you are well on your way to admirable ends."

Draco bowed to her. "Thank you, Madam Warlock."

"You are quite welcome, Mr. Malfoy," she told him. "Please be seated." Now she looked over at the senior Malfoys. "Mister and Madam Malfoy, will you please rise?"

Lucius and Narcissa stood with the exact same posture as Draco had, and waited to be addressed.

"I am seeking your response to the same question I asked your son," Madam Bones told them. "Mr. Malfoy, I am told you were taken to Hogwarts infirmary in a broken heap, your wand unused, and still holstered in your sleeve. Madam Malfoy, it is not yet clear where your wand resided during your misadventure, but it is quite clear to Magical Law Enforcement that you did not attempt to use it in self defense."

"Madam Bones, if I may," Lucius responded, "We are exactly as our son indicated: grateful to have been sentenced to probation, and allowed an extensive degree of freedom as a result. I am happy to restrict my magic in the event of my own self defense. I will admit that had I been in the company of my wife or son and witnessed either in peril, I would have acted to protect them, even at the cost of time spent in Azkaban."

"But did you not understand that an exception would be made in circumstances of self defense?" she asked.

"I do not consider my sentence to be anything but far lighter than I deserved, and as such, I am loathe to abuse or take advantage of any exception that might be made on my behalf." Lucius concluded.

"And you, Madam Malfoy?"

"I am of the same mind as my husband. My sentence ends in a matter of weeks-"

"Your sentence ends today," Madam Bones interrupted. "Pardon me, I did not mean to interrupt, Madam Malfoy, but your full magical privilege is restored as of now. Mister Malfoy, your sentence will be reduced by half. You will have your restrictions released in eighteen months time."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

The remainder of the hearing included formal testimony by the Ministry officials (Kingsley, Arthur, and Percy) and each of the aurors who had engaged in the capture of the Lestranges and their cohorts. Harry heard a far more extensive tale of combat and containment than he'd actually witnessed. That whole event had required not only the entire team of deputees, but a dozen aurors, and several Ministry administration staff to manage the aftermath of interrogations, clean up, and paperwork. At the conclusion of the oral recap, each of the deputees was extended an invitation to train in the auror program. Lee and Dean exchanged grins and accepted their invitations. Harry had no hesitation when he graciously declined his, nor did any of his close friends.

"It does sort of prompt me to realize I should start thinking about what I want to do when I look my age again," Harry commented to Neville and Draco as they walked through the long hallway toward the lifts that would take them to the Atrium.

"Neville and I are forming a rock band," Draco announced.

_"What?"_ Harry demanded, laughing in disbelief.

"What do you mean, _what?_ " Draco asked, speeding up a few paces, and turning to walk backwards so he could face them for the rest of the exchange. "Neville plays guitar, didn't you know?"

"No," Harry said. He shot a grin at Neville. "Can you?"

"A bit, yeah," Neville said, grinning back. "And Draco can sing a bit as well."

Harry gawked, he looked around to see who else was hearing this and saw that basically everyone was. "So when will you give a performance then?"

"Soon, Scarhead," Draco said with a smirk.

Harry was glad to see Draco in such light spirits, and he couldn't help but think he was witnessing something between Neville and Draco that wasn't exactly new, although when it could have started, he had no idea.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Failure To Thrive - The Last Hurdle

Everyone parted ways when they reached the Atrium. Narcissa was going to accompany Lucius to St. Mungo's to have the spell in his leg addressed. Severus was due to meet with George, so he and Ron headed off to the shop. Hermione had revising for her evening class. The Ministry employees returned to their offices. Dean and Lee each had to rush off for whatever reason. That left Harry, Draco, Neville and Luna facing each other.

"Lunch?" Harry suggested. "My treat. We'll celebrate Draco's magical freedom. How about Muggle London?"

"Typical, Potter," Draco snarked. "Takes us to a place where we can't use magic, just when I finally can? You're all heart."

Harry grinned. "Let's go see a movie, too! _The Mask of Zorro_ is playing at three o'clock. I saw it in the muggle paper."

"I'm in," Neville said enthusiastically.

"Fine," Draco agreed. "That alright with you, Luna?"

Luna beamed at them. "I've never been to the cinema."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

They had a solid two hours before the show began, so they went to a nearby Italian restaurant, where they had a lively conversation about rock music and everyone's favorite songs from both muggle and wizarding bands. Draco and Neville were very tightlipped about their plans for their band, and whether they would sing covers or their own songs. When it was time to order, Harry asked for lasagna, and savored every bite of it. He had a flash of memory of Aunt Petunia making it, and how lovely it had smelled, and how there had only been the crusty edges left in the pan for him after everyone else had taken theirs. But not this time. He cleaned his plate and was quite full, which didn't bother him. He was about to go sit in a theatre for the next couple of hours, so other than the remote danger of dropping into a food-induced coma during the film, he'd be fine.

Harry signaled to the waiter for the check before anyone else at the table tried to interfere.

"Your tab has been paid for, sir," the server told him.

"What?" Harry asked in confusion, but then he saw Dudley making his way over with a nervous smile. His cousin had lost more weight, and looked fit and well dressed. And tall.

"Hi Harry," Dudley said, holding out his hand for a shake. "How are you?"

"Er, fine, thanks," Harry replied. He hated the way his stomach clenched, and knew with absolute certainty that he was going to lose his lunch over this. "Um, thanks for picking up the check. You didn't need to do that."

"Of course I did," Dudley contradicted awkwardly.

Harry looked around at the curious faces of his friends and remembered his manners, although why he would worry was still in question. "These are my friends, Luna, Neville, and Draco. And this is my cousin Dudley." Dudley circled the table and shook hands with each of them. Harry was more than shocked. "What's gotten into you, Dud? It's not like you to want to even talk to me."

"I told you before that I did," Dudley replied. The nervousness was still there, but now Harry could see his determination as well. "And what's the deal with your age?"

Draco was watching Harry struggle to handle whatever was going on in his head at this unexpected confrontation. He flashed a look at Neville, who decided to speak up for Harry.

"It's a condition. A magical one," Neville said with a tone of warning. "It's involuntary."

"From all of that bad stuff that happened, right?" Dudley asked.

Harry sighed, his gaze set on the distance. "Yeah," he admitted, and felt a deep flush surge up from his neck.

"But you're getting better?" Dudley asked. "I can tell, because you look a bit older than when I last saw you."

Harry nodded, he but couldn't speak about this with his cousin. He just couldn't.

"Harry, can we please get back in touch? I'm not living with Mum and Dad. I barely speak to them. I'd rather think of you as my family than them at this point."

Harry clenched his jaw. His eyes were filling and he was losing it. "Why?" he asked, finally looking at Dudley.

"Because they're horrible, and you're not," Dudley said simply.

Luna slipped her hand into Harry's. "Perhaps you could start by exchanging letters," she said to both of them.

Harry squeezed her hand and nodded, but he'd dropped his gaze back down to the table. Draco and Neville were each about to intervene on Harry's behalf when Dudley pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Harry.

"That's my telephone number and address," Dudley said. "I'm in sales - selling cellular phones. Aunt Marge passed away and left me a bit of money too, so I'm doing okay on my own. If you tell me your address, I'll send the first letter, okay?"

Harry shot anxious looks at the two wizards across from him. Draco conjured a slip of paper under the table and passed it to Harry. Dudley handed him a pen, so Harry reluctantly wrote his full address at Grimmauld Place.

"Thanks Harry," Dudley said as he pocketed the paper and his pen. "I'll send you something soon. Nice to meet each of you."

Harry watched his cousin walk away while he tried to reclaim control of his emotions, but between the lasagna, that now felt like an enormous rock in his stomach, and the humiliation he was unable to define at the moment, it was a losing battle. Luna still had his hand, and now her thumb caressed his.

"I think we should see the movie another day, Harry," she said. "And you should have some time to yourself, shouldn't you?"

Harry nodded. He flashed an apologetic look at his two male friends as he got up and rushed out of the restaurant to find a place to disapparate.

"Let's go back to the manor," Draco said.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus was at Malfoy Manor when they returned, so all of Harry's parental alternates were present to hear the recap of what had just taken place. Among the lot of them, they'd only ever heard that Harry had been denied food and had slept in a cupboard for a good portion of his childhood while in the custody of the Dursleys. All of which was bad enough, but it was difficult to connect Harry's response to seeing Dudley with just those facts alone.

"A large part of his struggle with this syndrome must go back to his treatment by his family," Lucius said.

"People who are mistreated in that way develop a convoluted self image," Severus said quietly. "I've touched on it slightly with him, because I had similar traumas in the house I grew up in. But there is no real way to undo the damage unless Harry is able to let it go."

"He used to have nightmares, literally _every night,_ in school," Neville told them. "Ron watched out for him, but he's a heavy sleeper, so at times, I'd go check on Harry. After the Tournament, things got much worse. When he came back for fifth year, he started putting up silencing charms around his bed. He wouldn't talk about what was going on in his dreams. One time, though, I heard him pleading to an _Uncle Vernon_ that he _couldn't help it._ I have no idea what he meant."

"That was also when he was receiving snippets of Voldemort's conscious thoughts," Severus added. His stomach was clenched now with a tension that he imagined rivaled Harry's.

"Harry was humiliated that his cousin saw his Failure To Thrive Syndrome," Luna said. She tilted her head as they all gave her their attention. "He told me once, when we were first becoming friends, that he hated how powerless a bully can make you feel." She had her benign expression on her face, but she circled her gaze around to all of the Malfoys and Severus.

Severus' pallor was taking on the shade of gray that accompanied his deep shame and guilt. "I will go and see if I can locate him. He may have simply gone home."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry had not gone home.

Severus found Hermione sitting at the kitchen table with her books and notes for class.

"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm, as there was no misreading his mood.

"Harry saw his cousin at lunch today and he left upset. Is he here?"

Hermione sighed, knowing instinctively that Harry's upset would somehow overlap his unresolved issues with Severus, and probably Lucius and Draco, too. "He's not here. I have an idea of where he may be. I think you should let me go to him, Severus. I'll send for you if I think it's wise."

He sat heavily in a chair across from her, elbows on the table, just as she stood to make her way out to the back stoop to disparate. Hermione couldn't help circling over to him, tilting up his head, and giving him a warm smooch. "He knows you love him. And he loves you, too."

She left him with his thoughts.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Hermione apparated to Godric's Hollow and made her way to the graveyard, entering so that she'd approach the Potters' gravesite from behind Harry. She knew to take care with how she approached, and she spotted her best friend on his knees in front of the gravestone. She moved slowly until she was beside him, and then knelt as well, but left some space between them.

"I don't want to talk about it, Hermione," Harry said roughly. She could see he'd been crying, but for the moment, he was bubbling with rage. _"It's nobody's bloody business."_

"Alright," she said softly. "Does it feel better to be here, than at home?"

"For the moment," he said. He glared at her. "I suppose you've got me all figured out, then?"

She shook her head. "I only know that you were having a great time, and then your cousin showed up," she told him. "And that even though it was a civil meeting, that you were really bothered, and needed to leave."

Harry scrubbed at his eyes but then braced his hands on his knees and began to rock forward and backward. "Why does he want to be part of a family with me _now?_ Why not when I _really, really_ needed one?"

His entire body convulsed with the force of the sobs that wrenched from his chest, and Hermione watched helplessly as he collapsed entirely, forehead resting on his knees, hands laced behind his head. Her heart was in her throat as she scooted a little closer and lay her hand on his back, but let him cry without interfering. She'd never seen Harry like this. She'd always suspected he'd suffered very deep wounds from his childhood with the Dursleys, and now she was witnessing what he'd been holding in, all this time.

Harry eventually sat back up, chest heaving, eyes on his parents' names on the marker stone. "They were pathetic, obnoxious people that I'd never want to know anyway. They hated me - hated having to have me in their home. They would tell people I was wayward and had to go to a special school for corrupt juveniles. They told my primary teachers I was a trouble maker and to keep me on a tight leash," he swiped at his eyes. "I hated them, too. I don't know why it bothered me so much. Why it still bothers me."

"I think it was simply because you were young, and you had no one else," Hermione said softly. She was struggling not to cry with him as he nodded agreement to her comment. The sadness in his profile was heartbreaking. "You deserved so much more. _So much more. _You were such a wonderful boy, Harry, I don't know how they couldn't have adored you. The flaw was with them, not you."

"I tell myself that, all of the time, but I still feel like a reject, when it really comes down to it," Harry said. He was still keeping his eyes on the stone. "And I'll tell you something," his voice broke again and his shoulders shook as he struggled for a few moments before he could finish his thought, "starting at Hogwarts and having Snape go off on me first thing was just as bad. It was like a continuation of what I'd always known." He wiped his eyes and sniffed, finally conjuring a handkerchief to blow his nose. "And Lucius, and Draco…" He looked over at her finally. "How in the bloody hell did it ever play out like this? That we're all really good friends now? How, when Snape was the one who constantly reinforced my worst feelings about myself? And Draco. And Lucius, whenever I saw him. It was like all three of them could read my mind. Hermione, sometimes Snape would say the _exact_ same insults to me as my uncle would. When I was littler, I actually thought they might know each other, or that my uncle had sought Snape out to warn him about me."

"Harry," Hermione asked carefully, "do you know _why_ seeing Dudley got to you?"

He turned away again, this time glaring at his parents' names. "Because he saw me _weak._ I'm always _bloody weak _around him!"

_"How_ are you weak, Harry?" she pushed.

"Do you really have to ask?" he demanded, but the emotion was turning away from rage and back to despair. "I'm a bloody fifteen year old weakling! Dudley's a _man,_ living on his own, and I'm getting cuddles and reprimands from people I'm old enough to have adult relationships with!"

"I just don't see it that way, Harry," Hermione said. "I bet if you were to have a real conversation with Dudley, you'd find out that he's got a lot of hangups, and doesn't feel any more adult that you do, or than any of us do. And Harry, take a step back from yourself for a moment and really look at yourself. You have completely won over three of the most _obnoxious_ men any of us have ever known, for Merlin's sake. They will _all_ tell you without hesitation that they are better people for knowing _you._ For loving _you._ The Durleys would have been, too. Maybe Dudley still could be."

Harry sighed. "Don't do that, Hermione," he whined.

"Do what?" she asked, although she knew before he answered.

"Derail my rant so that I can't go completely off center," he griped, defeated. "Too late."

Hermione chuckled softly, but she stayed in place and waited to see what else Harry needed.

Harry rubbed his nose. "They all picked on you, too," he said somewhat sullenly. "Why didn't you shrink backwards?"

Hermione smiled sadly as she thought about how to answer him. "I think it's because I was raised with love. I knew I was awkward, and bossy, and annoying, but my parents adored me. I never complained to them about any of it because I didn't want to worry them, but I knew they were there if I needed them. I think that made all of the difference. For Ron, too." Now she scooted a little closer to him and stroked his hair for a moment. "And, Harry, even with my parents love, I'm not at all sure I could have withstood everything that you have, and still be mentally intact. At the very least, I'd have manifested something akin to the Failure To Thrive."

"Yes, you could have, Hermione," he said, looking at her again, emotions completely unguarded. "You're about as feisty as they come. No one could get the better of you."

She gave him a half smile. "I'm still human, Harry. I have my limits, and I actually get quite bothered by misadventure."

Harry snorted. "Hardly," he said derisively. "Miss Trouser Shrinker." He shook his head. "Who else but you would think of that?"

Hermione laughed shakily. "I was terrified, Harry. I'm really lucky to be someone who doesn't freeze up from fear." She stood up and held her hand out to him. "Severus looked positively nauseated with worry when I left to come look for you. Can you face him yet?"

Harry let her pull him to his feet. "I can't say this stuff to him," he said. "It was hard enough to say it to Lucius. Lucius was a selfish, arrogant, ponce before, for no good reason. He felt horrible about it, and all, but it had been a choice for him. But Severus was wounded, and hopeless, all of that time. He shouldn't have been such a bastard to me, but he was completely trapped in horrible circumstances"

"He was a grown man making a conscious choice to mistreat you. He could have left you alone. He didn't have to constantly provoke you and belittle you," Hermione said firmly. "And he should not be let off for the way he assaulted you with Occlumency."

Harry sighed in defeat.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus had the good sense to retreat to the parlor so that Harry could avoid him upon return if he so desired. And that's exactly what the younger wizard did. Hermione came in to sit with him until it was time for her to leave for her class.

"You look positively drained," Severus said to her as she walked in, disappointed that she sat in the chair across from him rather than joining him on the sofa. He was visibly tense, eyes now red-rimmed, and he still looked pasty.

"That was… difficult," she said softly. She held his gaze as she advised, "Brace yourself, Severus, it's not going to be easy to hear, but you need to get Harry to say the things to you that he just said to me. Give him a little while, if you can bear to." She smiled sadly at him. "I'll go back to my flat after class. Let's skip coffee tonight as well. That way, if you need open ended time with Harry, you'll have it."

"And when will I have open-ended time with you?" he growled.

Hermione's breath caught at the desire that flared from the innuendo in such a simple question. She stood and smirked at him to cover the intense need to giggle. "When Harry looks like an adult again," she said.

"Age seventeen, or nearly nineteen?" Severus asked as the floo roared to life.

Luna stepped through and gave them each her trademark innocent appraisal and a mild smile as if she was completely oblivious to the tension between them, but they both knew she could read it for exactly what it was.

"Ready?" Hermione asked Luna.

"Oh, yes," Luna said, turning to tell Severus, "I'm auditing Hermione's class tonight." She leaned forward, toward him slightly, and said conspiringly, "I'm posing as a muggle."

That got a smile out of Severus.

"See you later, Severus," Hermione said, leading the way to the kitchen, and the back stoop. "Oh, and I'm okay with seventeen, if you are," she called over her shoulder from the hallway.

"Indeed."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Kreacher informed Severus that he'd taken a light dinner tray up to Harry at about eight o'clock. Severus had taken his meal in the kitchen alone and returned to the parlor. It was now nearly nine o'clock and he heard Luna return from Hermione's Uni class. The young witch waved to him as she passed by to take the stairs up to her room. Severus wondered idly if she was part seer. The girl had an uncanny ability to read circumstances and know exactly when to leave people alone, and exactly how to prod them forward when they were unsure. He nearly called her back to ask her advice on whether to continue to sit here feeling impotent, or to gather his nerve up to go knock on Harry's door, but he refrained when he heard the boy talking with her from one of the upper landings.

A few minutes later, Harry came in and plopped down in the chair Hermione had used earlier. He looked exactly as tense as Severus felt.

"You've been forced to face something again, ready or not," Severus prompted. "And it's time to address the worst that happened between you and I, when I was the adult, and you were the student, and I was an unrelenting bastard to you." Harry raised his eyes to hold Severus' stare. The older wizard could not read what he was being shown. "Perhaps you could begin by telling me about what induced the realization for you?"

"I finally got to have lasagna, and Dudley went and spoiled it," Harry said.

Severus blinked. "I'm not following."

"I sicked it all up, all over my parents' tombstone," Harry said bitterly. When Severus gave him a look of exasperation, he relented. "I finally see what triggers my stomach aches," Harry told the older wizard. "It happens when I feel powerless."

"And this relates to lasagna how?"

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

About an hour later, Harry had again expelled his inner turmoil, including the wretched truth about the headaches he'd suffered after _remedial potions lessons,_ to the point of feeling depleted enough to not resist at all when Severus came over to him to pull him to his feet and into a hard hug. The older wizard was equally depleted but far more determined to work things through while the subject was on the table.

"Sit with me, Harry, I want to ask you about something else," Severus said as he led the boy over to the sofa and sat with his arm around him, holding him close. Harry scooted down a bit and leaned into Severus letting the man's chest be a pillow for his heavy head. "I've looked in on you on a couple of occasions while you slept and sensed charms in your bedroom. Are you using silencing charms while you sleep?" Harry huffed angrily and started to sit up. "Do not pull away, foolish boy, I'm simply asking to see if there is a connection to all of the rest of this? Do you consider yourself weak because you suffer night terrors?"

"Uhm, _yeah,"_ Harry said sarcastically, but he'd relaxed back against Severus.

"So you're ashamed of your nightmares, as if you should have control over them?"

Harry thought for a moment, eyes fixed on the flames in the fireplace, as per usual. He knew Severus was going to corner him into realizing he was being too hard on himself, and felt stupid that he couldn't anticipate what the older wizard had in ready response. "I'm ashamed that I have them at all," he admitted in defeat.

"If I were to confess to you that I had them, would you advise me to be ashamed?"

Harry sighed. "No," he said in a put out tone. "Ow," he said next, after Severus' long arm reached his heavy hand down and gave Harry a smack the side of his bum. After that, he was hugged again, so tightly that a laugh was forced out of him.

"I love you, Harry," Severus said with his chin resting on Harry's head. "So very much."

"I love you, too."

"And that's how I know I'm doing something right, for a change, hmmm?"

"If you say so," Harry said.

"I do." Severus told him. "And as for your nightmares, and your shame about them," he started.

"Luna beat you to it," Harry said. Severus couldn't see his face, but he could hear the smile that was there. "She suggested I might begin to grow much more rapidly if I talk about my dreams with people. Like her. Or you."

"And of course you readily agreed, with no argument," Severus said with exaggerated exasperation.

"Of course."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Failure To Thrive - Party At The Burrow

Harry received a letter from Dudley the next morning. His cousin must have hand delivered it, dropping it through the mail slot in the door. It was weird for Harry to think that Dudley had actually been on his front stoop at some point. He retreated to his room to read the letter alone, having no idea what to expect.

_Dear Harry, _

_Thanks for reading this. I know you don't really want to, but the fact that you are doing it proves what I said yesterday about your being the only one in the family who's not horrible. I've been trying, for a while now, to be better. I think I'm doing okay, which is what gave me the nerve to write this. _

_Harry, I'm really, really sorry about the way I treated you all of those years. About making fun of your bad dreams, and your parents being dead, and especially about hitting you and making you get punished for things __I'd__ done._

_When we were at the safe house last year, Hestia told me about a lot of the stuff you went through at school, and I connected some of the names that came up, and now know why you had nightmares. I'm sorry about all of the times you were really down and I just picked on you, instead of asking what was wrong. I wish I had been better._

_I don't expect you to forgive me. I just hope that maybe after time, if I show you I'm different, we can try to be friends. If you don't want to talk about this stuff, I get it. It was awful. Maybe if you write back to me, you could tell me what your life has been like this past year? I'd really like to know._

_Your cousin,_

_Dudley Dursley_

Harry sat on his bed, staring down at the letter as his emotions battled themselves in his tired mind. He didn't hesitate when he thought of who he might feel comfortable going to with all of this.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Lucius entered the conservatory to tell his wife he was going to go have a look for Harry, to check up on him after the heaviness of the previous day. He found Narcissa sitting on the settee with Harry's head in her lap. The boy had stretch out beside her, curled on his side. She raised a finger to her mouth to warn her husband to speak in hushed tones. She'd been stroking Harry's hair to comfort him after he'd confided his sadness. He'd drifted off to sleep only a few minutes ago, and she wanted him to rest, waking on his own when his mind had settled a bit.

Lucius frowned in concern, but Narcissa's expression told him the boy was fine. He blew her a kiss and retreated from the room quietly, only to sense from the wards that someone had apparated onto the grounds in the front of the house. He went to see who was there, and opened the door to Arthur Weasley.

"Arthur," he said in surprise. "Do come in. Welcome." He held the door for the ginger wizard.

"Thank you, Lucius," Arthur said easily. He stepped inside and they faced each other in the foyer. "I won't stay," Arthur told him, "I simply wanted to be sure that you and your family will join in the gathering at the Burrow this Saturday."

Lucius' eyes widened in unguarded shock and hesitation. He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself speechless.

"Wonders never cease, do they?" Arthur said jovially. "It's going to be quite an event, so you must come. George has put together a bit of a show with the new pensive invention. I believe he collected memories from you?"

Lucius nodded, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. "He did. I wasn't entirely clear as to how they were going to be used," he admitted.

"That's all a part of the surprise," Arthur said. He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels for a moment. "The parties at the Burrow are a lot of fun. Normally we end up with a pick up quidditch match, but we'll keep things on the ground this time. Lot's of food and drink, and what will no doubt be a _very_ entertaining display of collected memories."

Lucius blinked and cast his eyes to the side as he chose his next words, "Arthur, I've gone out of my way to express my disdain over the years at you and the way you've raised your family… At your priorities as a wizard. And I know that I was quite convincing." He brought his gaze back to meet Arthur's. "But the disdain was not for you. It was the only response I could formulate to mask my extreme discomfort at how utterly informal all of you Weasleys are all so capable of being. Until this last year, I've never been able to be comfortable around that kind of dynamic. I'm _a bit_ better now, but I do have quite a ways to go." He hoped he was expressing himself in the way he intended. "I will be there, as will Narcissa, and Draco. And I'm grateful that you are willing to include us." He held out his hand to his former adversary.

Arthur gave him a crooked smile and gripped Lucius' hand firmly. "You'll do fine. We'll see you there."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

The Malfoys came to meet up with Harry, Luna, Severus and Hermione so that they could all go to the Burrow together. Harry had knots in his stomach about the whole affair. He had no idea if Ginny would be there, and while he knew he could easily avoid speaking with her, he didn't want to think he was spoiling her fun by being there too. And that anxiety stretched out to include Lucius, for obvious reasons.

One by one, they flooed from Grimmauld Place to the Burrow. The party was in full swing already, and the lot of them were swept right into it. In no time, everyone was mingling, snacking, and speculating about the way George could have made a show out of their memories. There was quite a crowd that included many of the Hogwarts staff, all of the aurors who had been at the hearing on Monday, and all of the Weasley brothers. Harry scanned the guests and didn't see Ginny. He relaxed significantly at that point and went to fill a plate with finger food and say hi to Ron and George.

"So is this where the show going to be, then?" Harry asked as he joined Lee, Dean, Ron and George where they stood beneath an oddly shaped object that was covered with a large tarp as it hovered just above their heads.

"That's right, Harry," George said. He swept his arm around the yard to point out the obvious arena seating and blanketed spots on the small slope to the side of the seats.

"Are you sure we'll all be able to see that?" Harry indicated the floating contraption.

"You'll see," Ron said, smugly. "It's going to be brilliant. You'll love it."

"Ronny's helped a lot with the finishing touches," George told Harry. "He's gotten quite handy with what we're calling _memory paring."_

"Yeah," Ron said excitedly. "It's complicated, but I was able to cut out the boring parts from what we're showing."

"Wicked," Harry said with a grin.

Ron's expression sobered slightly. He jerked his head for Harry to follow him out of earshot of his brother and Lee. "Remember when I was thinking Luna had been… you know? _Assaulted,_ when she was on her own with the kidnappers?" he asked in a quiet voice, his eyes scanning the crowd of guests to be sure he wasn't being overheard.

"Yeah," Harry said softly.

"Well, it was because she was crying when we found her," Ron said.

"Oh," Harry said, and his stomach clenched yet again. The thought of Luna in tears was unfathomable, actually.

Ron ducked his head down closer to Harry. "Turns out she was crying because she was afraid _for you,_ that you were going to be hurt, or worse, and that, you know, it would affect your recovery," Ron explained. "I snipped out a part in her memory where she was told you would be killed or maimed as payback for Lucius and Severus betraying Voldemort. I guess that really go to her."

"She was that upset? for me?" Now the clench in Harry's abdomen was accompanied by a wash of warmth that spread through his whole torso. _She really cares for me,_ he thought. That shouldn't be a surprise. Luna had been a loyal and valiant friend to Harry since day one. He'd been seeing her in a different light since the kidnapping, and knew he'd already opened his heart to her in bigger terms than friendship. His hormones would be quite happy for him to jump right into love. But Harry didn't think it was fair to Luna for them to start a real relationship, not when he was still emotionally immature. And he was. It wasn't time yet.

Strangely, he felt completely at ease with the idea of having a frank discussion with her about it.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"Ladies and gentlemen," George called out with a moderate _Sonorus_-enhanced voice, "if you will please address your attention to the _Cubic Pensieve_ (Patent Pending, all rights reserved), you will now be given a demonstration of what I like to call, _'Memories of Fun And Madness In Our Post Voldemort World.'"_

There was a lot of loud chatter as people scattered to find comfortable places that had a good view of the floating object that was still covered with the large tarp. Many chose the stadium seating, but a good number went to the grassy hill that faced the makeshift theatre the Weasleys had erected for the event. Harry took a seat beside Lucius, and Luna sat on his other side. Harry glanced around to see where Severus had settled and saw him sitting nice and close to Hermione on a blanket on the grass, where Bill and Fleur, Minerva, Hagrid, and the senior Weasleys were all collected. Ron sat in front of Harry and Luna, and turned to grin excitedly at Harry. Beside him were Kingsley and Dean. They watched as George cast an obvious _engorgio_ on his device, tripling the size, so that now, everyone would be able to see. With a swish of George's wand, the tarp was removed, and the object came into full view. It literally looked like a glass cube, but the reflections of the lights from the yard and house were magically muted so that in the deepening darkness of evening, the sides and corners were nearly invisible to the naked eye.

The telltale signs of memories swirling around became visible. Harry could see that George was in a low chair directly in front of the device, slightly below the lowest audience seats where he wouldn't block anyone's view as he swished and swirled his wand, as if directing an orchestra. The first memory began to appear, and the visibility was somewhat holographic within the cube, yet it had the illusion for the viewer that he or she was much closer, if not directly inside the cube itself. Harry looked over at Lucius and saw that his pseudo guardian was already leaning forward with elbows on knees in anticipation.

The opening visual showed a bright blue sky as the backdrop for the rapidly drawn flaming letters that spelled out _Damned Near To God Status._ Then George's voice narrated dramatically, "Yes, _many of us_ are damned near to god - or god_dess - _status, as you will see. But first…" The flaming letters extinguished and were replaced with _Surprise! That's a Portkey!_

Harry watched someone's memory of him rejoining the 1st Year Memorial gathering with Lucius, right after Ginny had told him off. The sight of himself among the seven targets, all reaching for a glass, and disappearing simultaneously made him gasp, right along with the audience, even though most of those present had witnessed it as it had occurred the first time around. Harry grinned as Luna's perspective showed up next, and they saw her land heavily in a huge meadow in the middle of nowhere:

_Appearing to be mildly curious, she looked around, seemingly casually casting a shield in time to block hexes that came within seconds after the simultaneous, and very loud, cracks - CRACK-CRACK! - of Blaise Zabini and his cousin, Raj appearing to her left. Both of the wizards were unsuccessful in their attempts to disarm Luna. She dropped her shield and stood there, studying them with her head slightly tilted. The two young males swished and slashed away, with memory Luna matching every movement of their wands, effortlessly countering their curses as they shot hex, after jinx, after hex._

_"Bloody Looney Lovegood," Memory Blaise sneered at her. "No one will miss you. Why are you even bothering to defend yourself?"_

_Memory Luna's posture and expression remained casual and unruffled as she flicked her wand once and disarmed Blaise, flicked it again, and levitated him high into the air. Amidst Blaise's shouts of unadulterated terror, his cousin shot a panicked blasting curse at Luna, which jarred her shoulder and left a scorch mark on her jumper. She turned to him and glared _(a sight that no one in the audience had ever yet seen)_, and they could all see that Blaise was now falling from the sky behind her. "Daddy brought me this jumper from Burma," she said with a stern tone to Raj, as she slashed her wand to shoot a hex at him that created a tremendous SWOOSH of air. It knocked him down and sent him rolling swiftly away, like a tumbleweed in a windstorm. As he disappeared from sight in the distance, Luna rapidly swished her wand upward to reverse Blaise's downward momentum, literally just before he hit the ground, and sent him soaring back into the air. His voice cracked as he screamed his outrage, again calling her _Looney,_ and Luna narrowed her eyes. Blaise's yells were cut short by some sort of gag being magically applied to his mouth, and now Luna's stern frown returned to the mild curiosity she'd had when the scene had begun. She waved her arm and sent Blaise over to settle in the top of a very high tree, and turned to walk away._

"YEAH! Whoooo hoooo!" The collective roar of applause and hooted appreciation for Luna was deafening in the night air. Harry slipped his hand into hers and turned to really look at her, letting her see how utterly gobsmacked he was by what he'd just witnessed. She smiled at him, and there was so much more in the smile than she'd ever let him see before. But her eyes were immediately back on the pensieve because they were now watching Harry handle ex-auror Winger, and Normal Thickeness. Everyone laughed and cheered when memory Harry blasted Normal into the peacock shaped bush. There was a collective gasp as he countered Winger's slicing hex, then another gasp of wonder when they saw memory Harry's _open void _absorb Normal's next curse. He could feel Lucius giving him a sharp look of disapproval after memory Harry had snapped Normal's wand. But he was saved from acknowledging it by the transition into Lucius' memory of facing off with Rodolphus:

_Memory Lucius landed with a grunt on the grass in the exact spot that Harry had dueled Voldemort and induced the _priore incantatum_ spell, nearly four years prior. Lucius jumped to his feet and dodged behind a stone grave marker, as a curse that looked like a bolt of lighting shot into the ground where he'd just landed. The audience could see Rodolphus Lestrange, but it was clear that memory Lucius still could not. He crawled behind the cover of a row of grave stones and snuck a look around the last one in time to see Rodolphus cast an angry _bombarda_ that destroyed a marker that was two spots away. Lucius stretched his arms outward, hands moving as if he was shaping a large sphere, molding a swarm of crackling energy into a ball. He swung one arm back and lobbed it at Rodolphus. Lucius ran across the open space to a better area of cover, as his sphere flew in an arc that circled around Lestrange's head and body, inflicting a rapid succession of electrical shocks. Rodolphus literally looked like he was being electrocuted, his body jerking spasmodically._

"AHHH!" The audience responded with wonder. "OHHH!"

In spite of the fact that George was navigating the memories by hand to keep the show going, he still managed a series of catcalls, including a, "YEAH! Damned near to _god status,_ that one!"

Harry was laughing in spite of the intensity he felt at what he was seeing. It was full, visual proof of what he'd known all along about Lucius, and he supposed the way he was shaking was some sort of reaction to his sheer awe at the blond wizard's power. He looked over at Lucius now, who was sitting up straight again, eyes on the memory, and imagined he was sensing just a snippet of the level of control his pseudo guardian had to have employed to have refrained from using his wand in that conflict.

_Memory Lucius began levitating each of several decorative boulders that dotted the grounds, and wandlessly blasted them with so much power, the pieces flew like bullets. Many of them made brutal hits on Rodolphus' body, but he was able to shield himself enough to prevent significant injury. Memory Lucius stood his ground, his expression thunderous as he demanded, "Where is my son? my wife? Harry? Hermione? Luna?" Each question was punctuated with a forward thrust of the heel of his hand, causing a blast of magical energy that Rodolphus was hard pressed to block with his shield. The final burst hit Lestrange directly in the chest and knocked him to the ground, winding him. Lucius charged over to him and attempted to take his wand. They exchanged blows. Lucius got in a couple of solid punches before Rodolphus was able to use his wand to blast Lucius backwards, and the scene went black._

The visual morphed into a ferocious wand battle between the Lestrange cohorts and Arthur, Bill, George, Kingsley, Dean, and Lee. Harry recognized the graveyard, and knew this was what had gone on while he was with the unconscious Lucius. Sparks flew, arms slashed and lethal spells rent the air. Every one of the Weasley men stood with identical posture of command, and no nonsense. Harry loved getting to see them from this perspective. They were so obviously from the same bloodline. He leaned forward and clapped a hand on Ron's shoulder, yelling, _"Whoa!"_ with the audience as they watched first George, then Bill, then Arthur send blasting hexes at their assailants that slammed them one-two-three into the side of a mausoleum, where all were instantly bound with a type of webbing that shot out of the Weasleys' wands - no doubt a George invention, because it looked suspiciously like spider's web. The next to fell his assailant was Dean, and the gruesome sight of the skinned Naomi impostor brought a disgusted groan out of everyone. Harry leaned forward to shoot a look at Draco and saw he was just as repulsed as everyone else. Draco leaned forward to where Dean was sitting a level down and said something snarky that made Dean laugh. Next, they watched Lee cause his assailant to spin in place so quickly, his heels began to drill a hole into the dirt. When Lee ended the spell, the wayward wizard collapsed in a dizzy heap. The audience cackled at that, as the memory went on to show them the MInister of Magic cut right through the absurdity of the last remaining vigilante wizard's attempts to wreak havoc, sending a spell that pulled the wizard's feet out from beneath him, and trussed hands and feet behind his back.

More cheers, and now some high fives were going around the audience.

Next they all saw what was probably Ron's perspective of flying over Harry and Lucius, and landing in time to jump into battle. Harry got to see himself in action, including the wand-snapping, to which Lucius again gave him that sharp look of parental disapproval. "Trust me," Harry told him in a low voice. "Severus set me straight on that." Lucius said nothing as he turned his attention back to the pensieve, but after another moment he wrapped an arm around Harry and gave him a squeeze.

Now the memories began to break into very short segments that were punctuated with enthusiastic cheers from the audience:

_…Bill casting a spell to dismantle the wards at the Munson Estate, the sky above the property covered with rapidly rippling streaks of woven magic being pulled apart to open the grounds, and allow their entry…_

_…Harry and Severus were in the Munson study, and Severus flung a blasting hex over his shoulder at Smith, not hesitating to let Harry cover him while he continued to search for that illusive door…_

_…Percy sprinting ahead of Bill and launching through a window on the side of the estate, somersaulting as he went, landing on his feet as his magic cleared the air of shattering glass…_

_…Harry flying through the air, cushioning his impact with the wall just in time. Severus balancing an unconscious Narcissa on his bent leg to free his wand arm and twist around to shoot his duct taping hex at that last assailant…_

_…Narcissa glaring at two young men who were now covered in white flour and screaming as a hot frying pan chased them around the dirty basement, scald marks clearly visible on the seats of each of their trousers._

_…Hermione smirking with satisfaction as Rabistan Lestrange hit that _high note_ she'd described, his trousers shrinking rapidly…_

_…Neville rapidly strumming a muggle electric guitar and going into a classic riff, looking unbelievably cool as he sang, _"She's got it, yeah baby, she's got it!"_…_

The crowd roared. Harry yelled along with everyone else.

_…A close up of Lucius, saying very definitively, "I'm telling you, he's damned near to god status."..._

_…An isolated visual of the muddy gnome, with Hermione in the background, laughing hysterically, as the gnome lumbered forward, toward the audience, its grunts and odd groans so intensely comical that they nearly masked a very disturbed, "Good lord," from the witnessing Lucius…_

The entire audience was laughing uncontrollably, gasping for breath and wiping their eyes. Lucius had leaned forward again, elbows on his knees, hands covering the lower part of his face as his shoulders shook with mirth. Harry'd never seen him laugh like that. Leave it to a Weasley to finally break down _that _final barrier.

The scene of blue sky appeared again, this time the flaming letters spelling _Magic, or Mayhem? _as George's voice narrated, "One must ponder, and form one's own personal philosophy of the intricate relationship between the two. I personally believe one cannot exist without the other…"

The blue sky faded and the succession of segmented imagery resumed in earnest:

_…A view from the back stoop of the Burrow as George apparated and disapparated rapidly, all around the back yard, creating loud and repeating noises: crack! crack! crack! crack! crack!…Molly Weasley throwing up her hands, yelling in exasperation, "Oh, will you stop that, already?"… _

A roar of entertained laughter from the crowd.

_…Harry, as he flew through the air in Diagon Alley after Umbridge had blasted him, hitting the side of the building, and standing up quickly, with a hasty, "I'm fine."…_

A chorus of hoots and a "You go, Harry!" from Lee Jordan.

_…George, as he asked, "Can we call you _Severus,_ then?" and Severus replying, "I believe I'd greatly prefer that to _bloody arsehole."_…_

Howls of laughter. Smirks of amusement. Gasps of offended senses.

_…Percy racing down the hill on the Hogwarts grounds, propelling a terrified and bouncily levitated Rory Bolero along beside him…._

"Go, Perce!" Bill Weasley called out.

_…Auror Smith declaring, "I'm following the letter of the law, Weasley." And Arthur leaning in close to say to his face, "Bollocks."…_

"YEAH! DAD!"

_…Neville strumming a muggle acoustic guitar, sitting beside Draco, both of them having magically grown their hair and used a heavy dose of black eyeliner around their eyes, both singing in harmony the chorus of _More Than Words,_ by the muggle band Extreme._

_…Severus standing in pink satin leggings on the duel field at Malfoy Manor, hands on hips, cone of shaving foam on his head and all over has face as he declares, "You _did not _just do that, Potter!" and foam sprays away from his mouth…_

_…Molly screeching (again), "Oh, will you stop it already?"_

_…Lucius turning to look at Severus, "I blame you."_

Harry had his arms wrapped over his middle now, his stomach aching from laughing so hard. He had to wonder how in the world George and Ron had gotten all of these memories. He also had to appreciate how far out of their way they'd gone to include the Malfoys throughout this entire show. And as if by power of suggestion-

…_Neville standing with his electric guitar, strumming rhythmically, waiting to join in the chorus as Draco sang into a microphone, "Sailing away, on the crest of a wave, it's like magic! Oh, rolling and riding and slipping and sliding, it's magic!"_…

Harry didn't think the crowd could grow any wilder at this point.

_…Lucius, (again) saying very definitively, "I'm telling you, he's damned near to god status."..._

_…A closeup of Ron's face as Molly asks, "Where's your brother?" followed by crack! crack! crack! crack! and the nearly simultaneous appearances of Bill, George, Percy, and Charlie dangerously close behind Ron, and all five brothers saying in unison, "Hi, Mum." _

_…Luna and Hermione facing each other in the backyard at Grimmauld Place, wands at the ready, both chanting, "One, two, three, go!" and a split second later, both bursting into laughter at the sight of the other's extraordinary new hairdo…_

_…Severus and Harry facing each other, also in the backyard. A microscopic flick of Severus' wand, and his comically raised eyebrow as the sound of a loud smack lands on Harry's behind, causing the teen to bellow, _"OW, not cool!"_…_

_…Ron sitting at the outdoor table at Malfoy Manor, arms over chest, impersonating Severus perfectly, "I never claimed to be articulate."…_

_…Harry on the ground with his arms trapped in the twist of his shirt, up over his head, laughing hysterically, while Severus mercilessly applies tickling jinxes to his ribs…_

_…George and Ron, standing nose to nose, George impersonating Umbridge, asking, "Hemm, hmmm. So, you'd wanted to teach Defense against the Dark Arts? But you did not get the position?" followed by Ron impersonating Severus, answering, "Ob-vi-ous-ly." with perfect Snape-like enunciation…. _

_…Lucius in his bed in the infirmary, hair shorn off, bandages adorning his head, left arm, and left leg, muttering, "Mystery solved," before passing out…_

_…Remus Lupin, sitting with one leg slung onto his desk at Hogwarts, tapping the Marauder's Map with his wand, saying, "Mischief managed."..._

Harry had provided that last memory of Remus, but the sight of him up there brought a huge lump to his throat. He had to swallow hard and blink rapidly to keep his cool.

The cubicle turned black for a moment, as smokey lettering appeared to display, _The Grand Finale._ George's voice announced, "Ladies and Gentleman, I give you _The Muggle Lovers,_ performing for you a muggle classic by the Bay City Rollers, _You Made Me Believe In Magic!"_

The audience roared with applause and hollers, attention riveted on the cubicle.

_The darkness faded to show Neville, Dean and Draco on a stage, in what Harry assumed must be the backyard of Neville's family home. Dean was in the background, sitting behind a set of drums. A microphone was set up with its arm bent to reach over to Dean as he counted, "One, two, three, four!" and began to tap his drumsticks on the symbols, setting a steady beat that he switched over to the drums. Neville joined a moment later, strumming his electric guitar to the four-four rhythm. He moved to stand closer to his microphone, which was next to where Draco stood. Draco bobbed his head to the beat, bringing his own mic up as he began to sing: "I believed that love had gone, I'd no strength to carry on. Thought my world was upside-down. Then, you walked on into my life, went to work to set things right. What's the secret that you, that you used?…"_

_Dean and Neville joined in the chorus and they all sang loudly, "You made me believe in magic, you know that I could be truly in love! You made me believe in magic, your love's put magic into my life!"_

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

The next hour was spent circulating among a crowd of extremely impressed fellow guests, commenting, shaking hands, laughingly recapping funniest moments, and feeling a sense of connection that mattered so very much to everyone present. Harry looked around for Severus and saw him heading over, but stopping first to give Draco a hard hug and a rare grin. Harry was out of earshot and couldn't hear what they were saying.

"We're going to be filthy rich, Harry," George said from beside him. "You, me, Severus, Ronny."

"I didn't do anything to help," Harry said in confusion.

"It was your bleeding idea!" Ron said, closing in on the two of them with a huge grin. "I've gotten pretty good at condensing the memories, if I do say so myself. I'll be in charge of that, when we sell the full service to people."

Harry was lost. "Okay, all I said was that I wanted a way to review memories that didn't require leaning into a pensieve basin. That's it. You lot did everything else."

"Like I said," George told him, "your idea. And Severus, here," he stepped over to open their little circle to include the older wizard who had a pleased smirk on his face as he joined them, "he's contributed several functional charms that have smoothed out all the rough edges. Kingsley just told me, Severus, that he wants to discuss a purchase of several of our cubes for the Ministry's court system. He sees no reason to continue waste Ministry resources interrogating suspects, when you can just have a look at what they've been up to for yourself!"

"How exactly did you manage to get all of those memories together and compiled so quickly, gentlemen?" Severus asked both Ron and George.

"Perseverance," George said smugly.


End file.
